
Glass-Bit i 23 - 
Book L 27 

Copyrights 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



THE LARGER VISION 



BY 
A. R. LAMBERT 




BOSTON 

SHERMAN, FRENCH & COMPANY 

1913 



^\ 






copyright, 191s 
Shebman, Frekch 6» Company 



A35881.3 

ft* 



TO THE "HELPMEET" OF THE YEARS OF A 
BUSY LIFE, WHOSE WISE COUNSELS HAVE 
FURNISHED SOLUTION TO VEXED PROBLEMS; 
WHOSE FAITH IN HER HUSBAND HAS STIMU- 
LATED THE HIGHEST ENDEAVORS: WHOSE 
CHEERFUL SPIRIT HAS DRIVEN DULL CARE 
TO THE WINDS; WHOSE LOVE HAS BEEN AS 
AN EVANGEL OF HOPE; WHOSE UTTER CONSE- 
CRATION TO THE COMFORTS OF THE ROOF- 
TREE HAS MADE THE HOME A RETREAT FROM 
THE TOILS AND INQUIETUDES OF LIFE— 
TO 

MY WIFE 

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK 



FOREWORD 

Through the years of my ministry I have 
sought to be a close observer of men and things 

— noting the trend of the times. 

I have not failed to appreciate the introduc- 
tion of multiplied, multiform labor-saving de- 
vices ; the increase in philanthropic movements 

— men of large means who have caught the 
spirit of the declaration " the time is near at 
hand when it will be regarded a sin for a man 
to die rich," a sentiment in keeping with the 
thought of the Master, who declared: " The 
poor ye have always with you " — reference be- 
ing had to the unfortunate and impotent of 
earth; the gradual disappearance of the hated 
system of " caste," and the swinging of the pen- 
dulum of human thought in the direction of the 
democracy of the people. 

The introduction of reform movements, look- 
ing towards the elimination of vice, graft, and 
greed in the body politic ; the placing of the 
stamp of public disapproval upon the practice 
of polygamous cohabitation, the " white slave 
traffic," and the utter annihilation of the great- 
est curse of the ages, the liquor traffic; the 



FOREWORD 

opening, one by one, of the doors of the heathen 
world, admitting the ambassadors of Jesus 
Christ; the displacement of monarchial forms 
of government by newly born republics — all 
these things have branded as false the state- 
ment, oft repeated, that " the world is growing 
worse," and stressed the truth that the world is 
growing better. 

" The apostles of despondency and com- 
plaint " are retreating before the oncoming 
spirit of optimism : " God is in his heaven, the 
world's all right." 

As a result, in large part, of these observa- 
tions, I have become an out-and-out optimist, 
and have found myself possessed of the larger 
vision ; my study of the word of God has led me 
to see and feel that God is not " a blind force, 
making for righteousness," but an all-wise and 
loving heavenly Father, who takes note of the 
end of life from the beginning, making the am- 
plest provision therefor. 

The old book has thus become a new book to 
me, for I have found myself crying out, again 
and again, in the language of the inspired 
writer : " Open thou mine eyes that I may be- 
hold wondrous things out of thy law." And 
as a result the sublime symbolism of the Bi- 
ble has assumed, not a poetical significance — 
rather the opening up of new vistas of eternal 
verities. 



FOREWORD 

Red seas of opposition have but emphasized 
passageways over which God's children may 
pass " dry shod." Fiery furnaces have but 
stressed the keeping power of God. Mountain 
tops, surrounded by the horses and chariots 
of the enemy, have furnished an emphasis of the 
need of " opened eyes," and the recognition of 
the fact that " they that be for us are more than 
they which be against us." Storm-tossed Gen- 
essarets have but directed my thought to the 
presence of Him whose voice rocks the winds 
and waves of adverse experiences to sleep. 
Hungry multitudes have become suggestive of 
that multiplying power, providing enough and 
to spare. The day seems drawing nigh when 
the words of the poet-prophet shall be fulfilled 
— when 

" Jesus shall reign, where'er the sun 
Does his successive journeys run; 
His kingdom spread from shore to shore, 
Till moons shall wax and wane no more/' 

In a word, running through all the messages 
of my ministry, of which these contained in this 
volume are a part, will be found " the golden 
thread of optimism," the larger vision; and in 
the hope that others may catch this spirit, I 
send them forth trusting and unafraid. 

A. R. L. 



CONTENTS 



I The Larger Vision 

II The Imagery of the Bible 

III Unseen Forces 

IV With Stars as Teachers 
V The Regal Spirit 

VI Spiritual Poise 

VII The Vicarious Contribution 

VIII The Supremacy of Jesus Christ 

IX " The Land of Room Enough 



page 
1 

17 

33 

51 

67 

83 

99 

117 

133 



THE LARGER VISION 



" The inventor multiplies the faculties of life, 
but the poet makes life better worth living." 

— Curtis. 

" There is but one Raphael, and no second; but 
a thousand lesser artists, looking up to him, are 
lifted to his level." 

— Hillis. 

" Truth tyrannizes over the unwilling members 
of the body. No man need be deceived who will 
study the changes of expression. When a man 
speaks the truth, in the spirit of truth, his eye is as 
clear as the heavens. When he has base ends and 
speaks falsely, the eye is muddy and sometimes 
asquint." 

— Emerson. 

" But we all, with open face beholding as in a 
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the 
same image from glory to glory, even as by the 
spirit of the Lord." 

— St. Paul. 



I 

THE LARGER VISION 

" Among a thousand men who talk, but one 
thinks; among a thousand men who think, but one 
sees. ,, 

Out from this comparatively small number of 
men who see, have gone the builders of nations, 
the founders of empires, the discoverers of new 
worlds, the prophets of God, the benefactors of 
the race, and the Saviour of a lost world ; in a 
word, the sum total of human success and 
human happiness is bound up in the lives of men 
who see — who have the larger vision. 

It goes without saying, therefore, that one of 
the most inspiring pastimes is that of tracing 
the footsteps of these leaders of men. 

I. WORLD LEADERS 

Over yonder I see one of these world leaders 
gazing upon jets of steam, emanating from a 
teakettle. 

A thousand other men had noted the same 
thing; had thought about it, and spoken of it, 
in commonplace terms, without result. 



a THE LARGER VISION 

But as this one man looks upon it, he gets a 
vision in which he beholds the old-fashioned 
stage coach giving way to the iron horse, thun- 
dering out across the plains ; and the slow-sail- 
ing wind vessel giving way to the ocean liner, 
down in whose engine-room he beholds a mighty 
Corliss engine, the expansion of whose lungs of 
steel sends the great liner plowing through the 
waves of the deep in the very teeth of the tem- 
pest; sees the wheels of human industry turned 
by the potent arm of steam power, and Franklin 
has succeeded in completely revolutionizing the 
commercial world. 

Lying prone upon the earth under an apple 
tree one summer's day, his head propped up by 
his hands, one of these world leaders was deeply 
absorbed in thought, when suddenly a gentle 
breeze loosed an apple from its stem, and falling 
earthward, the apple smote him on the head. 

Perhaps a thousand other men might have had 
a similar experience, only to have entertained 
thoughts and given utterance to expressions 
which would not look well in print. 

But this one man had a vision, and leaping to 
his feet, unmindful of the impact of the apple, 
cried out : " Eureka, I have found it," and as 
he walks forth I see in his hand the key of 
gravitation, in the use of which have been un- 
locked all the doors of the physical universe, 



THE LARGER VISION 3 

" doors of oak, doors of brass, doors of iron," 
cluster systems, group systems, planet systems, 
world systems, sun systems, all open. Newton 
has succeeded in wresting down to earth the se- 
crets of the stars. 

I see still another world leader walking the 
shores of sunny Italy, noting a bit of strange 
driftwood lying on the shore. 

A thousand other men might have witnessed 
a similar sight, and perhaps with little thought 
or casual reference, passed on. But as Colum- 
bus looks upon the driftwood, he gets a vision, 
and forthwith goes forth to discover a new 
world. 

Inspiring, however, as is the pastime of 
tracing the footsteps of men of vision in the 
temporal world, still more so is that belonging 
to the spiritual realm. 

See, then, yonder monk of Erfurt, reclining 
on the spiral stairway perusing the word of God, 
suddenly leaping to his feet, his face all aglow 
with a floodtide of illumination surging up 
through brain and heart, exclaiming : " The 
just shall live by faith," and going forth to nail 
against the Wittenburg chapel door his ninety- 
five theses, literally a protest against spiritual 
apostasy, the outrageous practice of " indul- 
gences," which became the battering ram of 
Jehovah's vengeance, shaking the decaying 



4 THE LARGER VISION 

Roman empire from center to circumference, 
and — Protestantism was born. 

Or see out yonder on the plains at night a 
refuge, a supplanter, a man dominated by self- 
centered motives, who has selected the earth for 
his bed, a stone for his pillow, and the star- 
spangled canopy of the heavens for a covering. 
And as he sleeps, he has a dream — has a vision 
— in which he beholds a ladder set upon the 
earth, whose top reaches to heaven ; and behold, 
angels were ascending, bearing petitions from 
sin-burdened souls heavenward — and angels 
descending were bearing back from the throne 
of God answers of joy and peace — a revela- 
tion of the possibility of a sin — estranged race 
becoming reconciled to a justly offended God. 

And a little later see this world leader testing 
out that vision, wrestling all night with one of 
these angels ; and when the dawn broke, the 
angel said to him, " Let me go, for the day 
breaketh." And this man, engaged, not in 
" wresting down the secrets of the stars," but 
rather that greater wealth of possession, the 
secret of the mind and heart of God, cried out, 
" I will not let thee go unless thou bless me " 
— ■ that is unless thou introduce me to the King 
of Heaven, that I may become reconciled to 
him ; and his iron will prevailed. 

No wonder God spoke to him, saying, " Thy 



THE LARGER VISION 5 

name shall no longer be called Jacob " — the 
supplanter and self-seeker, with nature bent in 
the direction of an acquisition of flocks and 
herds — " but Israel," with feet traversing the 
higher levels — " for as a prince, thou hast pre- 
vailed with God and with men.' 5 

It is needless to say that all was over but the 
" shouting " ; having become reconciled with 
God, reconciliation with his outraged brother, 
Esau, followed as naturally as day follows the 
night. 

Of greater import to the world than all the 
gold finds of Alaska or diamond fields of South 
Africa was this spiritual vision given to Jacob. 
Once the world has made practical application of 
this vision, all racial differences shall have dis- 
appeared, the hated doctrine of " caste" shall 
be forgotten ; the last sword shall become trans- 
formed into a plowshare, and the final spear 
beaten into a pruning hook ; or, as the poet has 

put it, 

" When some sweet bird from the south, 

Shall build in every cannon mouth; 
Till the only sound from its rusty throat, 

Shall be that of a wren or a bluebird's note." 

When all men shall have received this vision, 
then shall all differences between labor and 
capital be adjusted; "trade unions" and 



6 THE LARGER VISION 

" trusts " shall be but a memory ; and walking 
arm in arm " the ways of justice, brotherhood, 
and love," the capitalist shall address the labor- 
er, and the laborer shall address the capitalist, 
both speaking in one voice, in the sweetest tones 
of earth or heaven, saying " For we be breth- 
ren." 

II. THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE 
There is a world of difference in the way we 
look at things. The perspective held in mind 
bulks big in the taking of a picture ; the forming 
of an estimate of ourselves, our neighbor, and 
of God is responsible for the weal or woe of the 
race. 

Dwelling in a palatial residence, possessed of 
an abundance of this world's goods ; or living in 
obscurity, unknown to the world, and being able 
to truthfully sing, 

" No foot of land do I possess, 
Nor cottage in a wilderness — 
A poor, wayfaring man/' 

enters not into the equation of happiness, if we 
have the right perspective of life. Mr. Long- 
fellow has well said " Brown owns the mountain, 
Smith owns the vale, and Jones owns the river — 
but the landscape is mine." 

Given the right perspective, and the sun 
shines for man, the flowers bloom for him, for 



THE LARGER VISION 7 

him the earth yields her products. It is his to 
live in a world home beautiful beyond compare, 
with a background of " suns, moons, worlds, 
constellations, systems ; all that is magnificent in 
motion ; all that is sublime in magnitude ; all 
that is grand in order and obedience," causing 
him to reiterate the words of the Psalmist: 
" The heavens declare the glory of God, and 
the firmament showeth his handiwork; day 
unto day uttereth speech and night unto night 
showeth knowledge." 

To the man possessed of the right perspec- 
tive, all trains crossing all continents, and all 
ships, sailing all seas are his common carriers, 
bearing to his very door the choicest commod- 
ities of earth. A rich temporal heritage is his ; 
but richer still is his spiritual heritage, for he 
has learned the significance of the words of the 
great Apostle: "For all things are yours, 
whether Paul or Apollo, or Cephas, or the world, 
or life, or death, or things present or things to 
come; all are yours and ye are Christ's and 
Christ is God's." 

But poor indeed is the man possessed of the 
wrong perspective. For him, clouds lower in 
the heavens, drought blights the harvests, the 
germs of disease float in the atmosphere, and 
doubts and misgivings, like full grown giants, 
stalk the earth. Envy lurks like a destroying 



8 THE LARGER VISION 

monster in his heart ; the laughter of little chil- 
dren mocks him; peace of mind, joy of heart, 
and contentment of life are minus quantities ; 
success like a will of the wisp is ever eluding 
him; friendships are but saddened memories to 
him, for " the hand of every man is turned 
against him." To him there is a swift over- 
taking of prosperity by adversity ; the dis- 
placing of sunlight by shadow, of daytime by 
night ; in a word, his is the experience of the old 
lady who said : " I always feel bad when I feel 
good, for I know I shall feel badly after a 
while." 

His supreme need is an annihilation of pessi- 
mism and a substitution of the more wholesome 
spirit of optimism; the displacement of the 
spirit of despondency and complaint, and a 
large endowment of a right perspective — the 
larger vision of life. My friend, the late Col. 
Copeland, of wide renown as a lecturer, delighted 
in telling his experience on his honeymoon at 
Niagara Falls. Seated with his bride in 
" Lover's Nook " near Goat's Island, they 
heard the sound of footsteps, and playing a 
game of " peek-a-boo," saw a tall, finely dressed 
gentleman — a New England manufacturer by 
trade — approaching the falls. Gazing upon 
the stupendous waterfall leaping over its chasm, 
he murmured to himself : " My ! If I could 



THE LARGER VISION 9 

harness Niagara to my mills, my fortune would 
be made." A little later they heard the sound 
of footsteps, and this time saw approaching the 
falls a genuine representative of the " wild and 
wooly west," a sheep raiser by trade, living in 
a section of the country where, by reason of an 
absence of clear water, he found it difficult to 
wash the wool, preparing it for the market ; and 
as he looked upon the self-same spectacle of the 
mighty waterfall apparently going to waste, he 
exclaimed: " My, what a place to wash wool." 
And still again they heard the sound of foot- 
steps, and this time they saw an aged man, bowed 
beneath the weight of years, but with kindly, 
beaming eye, thoughtful face, and reverent de- 
meanor ; and as he approached the falls, falling 
on bended knees, with clasped hands, and face 
turned heavenward, he exclaimed : " Father, I 
thank thee for permitting me to live to see this 
exhibition of thy power and glory." 

It makes a world of difference, the perspec- 
tive we get of life. 

One glorious summer's day, I stood on 
Inspiration Point, in the Grand Canyon of the 
Yellowstone National Park. Feasting my eyes 
on the panorama of nature's beauty, clinging 
to the rock, I lost all conscious fear, despite 
the fact that seemingly borne up on arms of 
empty space, it was two thousand feet sheer 



10 THE LARGER VISION 

down into the yawning chasm beneath. Yonder 
in the distance were the great falls of the Yellow- 
stone, three miles away, dashing, as in a sort of 
agony, against the rocks below. There was no 
sound, for " the mighty distance laid the fingers 
of silence upon the lips of the descending cat- 
aract." Lifting their heads above me were 
mighty canyon walls, upon which the great Ar- 
tist, God, had hung his masterpieces, whose col- 
orings were made up of entangled rainbows and 
pinioned sunsets. Intoxicated on the wine of 
nature's beauty, my very soul was enthralled ; I 
noted not the passing of time, and my thoughts 
turned to that other and ageless life beyond the 
stars, where no one is ever heard to say, " I am 
sick," and where we shall never grow weary and 
never grow old; and I thought I better under- 
stood the meaning of the words of inspiration: 
" A thousand years are but as one day and one 
day as a thousand years." 

But by-and-by, starting up, I turned to see 
how my companions were enjoying this wonder- 
land of the west; and I found a young couple 
making love to each other. Turning away in 
amazement, the words formed on my lips " Is 
it possible to be in heaven and not know it? " 
I recalled the words of the great Teacher: 
" Because they, seeing, see not ; and hearing, 
they hear not, neither do they understand." 



THE LARGER VISION 11 

III. OPENED EYES 
Bobby Burns, in his unique style, was wont 
to exclaim: 

" O wad some power the giftie gie us, 
To see oursels as ithers see us." 

Better still do I like the exclamation of 
another: "O for the power to see through 
Jesus' eyes. 55 Then would every wayside flower, 
reaching out arms of appropriation, utilizing the 
trinity of physical forces about — earth, air 
and sunlight, — developing the ability to give 
out beauty and fragrance, speak of the trinity 
of spiritual forces, God the Father, God the Son, 
and God the Holy Spirit, all awaiting our 
appropriation, enabling us to " grow up into 
our living head, Christ Jesus the Lord." Then 
should mountain peaks, buttressing against the 
sky, with shoulders of strength holding back 
the tempests that would otherwise whelm us, 
bespeak the shoulders of infinite strength, 
vouchsafing protection from the stormy blasts. 
Then should the summer's shower, refreshing 
and rejuvenating nature, recall to us a million 
voices of drooping vegetation ; leaves brown and 
sear, and fields of " sun fired " corn pleading 
for rain; and in response to this petition, the 
sun, bending very low, with golden dippers lift- 



12 THE LARGER VISION 

ing water from the deep into the carriers, the 
clouds — which scurrying across mountains, 
hills, and dales, dispense their blessings far and 
wide, transforming these millions of pleading 
voices into so many voices of praise, rendering a 
Te Deum of thanksgiving to the Author of every 
good and perfect gift — be found reminding 
us of the sublime truth that we are the golden 
human dippers, God appointed to go down into 
the deeps of God ; that we are " the clouds of 
mercy," the spiritual carriers, whose mission it 
is to hurry across the mountains, hills, and dales 
of human experience, depositing " showers of 
blessing " upon a thirsty world. Then should 
we " ken " the significance of the words of the 
poet : 

" There seems a voice in every gale, 
A tongue in every flower; 
That tells, O Lord, the wondrous tale, 
Of thine Almighty power." 

With opened eyes the prophet Isaiah entered 
into the temple, and we will do well to listen to 
his experience as told by himself. 

" In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also 
the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, 
and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the 
seraphims; each one had six wings; with twain he 
covered his face, and with twain he covered his 
feet, and with twain he did fly. 



THE LARGER VISION 13 

" And one cried unto another and said, holy, 
holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts; the whole 
earth is full of his glory. 

" And the posts of the door moved at the voice 
of him that cried, and the house was filled with 
smoke (glory)." 

O that with opened eyes we might ever enter 
into His sacred courts, that we might see the 
One, high and lifted up, seated upon the throne ; 
that we might behold the seraphims, and join 
with them in the refrain : " Holy, holy, holy is 
the Lord God of hosts ; " that we might be en- 
circled by the glory of this holy place, and go 
forth to fulfil the prophecy — " filling the whole 
earth with his glory." 



THE IMAGERY OF THE BIBLE 



" Imagination rules the world." 

— Napoleon. 

" The soul without imagination is what an ob- 
servatory would be without a telescope." 

— Lowell. 

" Like a great cathedral is the word of God. 
Viewed from without, no satisfactory vision may be 
had of the artist's dream; but viewed from within, 
a miracle of grace and beauty breaks in upon us. 
In like manner, viewed from without, the word of 
God possesses but little charm for the soul; but 
viewed from within, a miracle of marvelous truth 
enthralls him." 

— L. 

" The eyes of your understanding being enlight- 
ened; that ye may know what is the hope of His 
calling, and what the riches of the glory of His 
inheritance in the saints." 

— Ephesians, 1-18. 



II 

THE IMAGERY OF THE BIBLE 

" I am not possessed of poetic temperament, 
hence I have not wasted valuable time, wandering 
aimlessly in the literary world; rather have I been 
content to deal with the practical side of life/' 

This expression, falling from the lips of a 
well-known divine, surprised and startled me, 
since herein is found one of the most fertile 
fields of research, one of the most valuable 
adjuncts in the interpretation of the word of 
God. The Bible is a veritable mine of symbo- 
lism, literary wealth, etc., which has challenged 
the attention, gripped the thought and enriched 
the lives of the world's greatest scholars and 
thinkers. Would you possess yourself of the 
choicest rhetoric, you need not search in the 
world's great libraries for it; it is found in 
the word of God. If you would become inspired 
by the sublime symbolism, you will find it in the 
book of books. If you would engage in the task 
of expanding the world's greatest similes, you 
need not peruse all the works on logic extant — 

you will find them in Holy Writ. If you would 

17 



18 



THE LARGER VISION 



enrich your vocabulary by rare literary gems, 
you will find them in the Bible. 

In a word, the most striking antitheses, the 
most telling hyperboles, the keenest satire, the 
pithiest epigrams, the most effective metonymies, 
and synecdoches to be found anywhere abound in 
those Scriptures given by inspiration of God, 
which " are profitable for doctrine, for correc- 
tion, for reproof, and for instruction in right- 



eousness. 



55 



" Not possessed of the poetic temperament " 
— as well say, " I am not possessed of an his- 
toric temperament, therefore, I have not wasted 
valuable time in familiarizing myself with the 
historicity of things ;" and yet the most inspir- 
ing realm, in all history, is that portion of the 
word, which deals with the origin of the 
world home in which we dwell, the inhabitants 
thereof, and a Common Creator, God. As well 
be guilty of the folly of declaring, " I am 
not of a legal turn of mind, therefore I have 
not wasted valuable time in familiarizing my- 
self with the tenets of law; 55 though the Ten 
Commandments in themselves form the bases of 
all law. Or, " I am not gifted with the pro- 
phetic instinct, therefore, I have not troubled 
myself to grip the utterances of the major and 
minor prophets. 55 

Riding along one day, with a noted jurist, he 



THE IMAGERY OF THE BIBLE 19 

looked into my face, and in impressive tones, 
said, " After all, the great business of this world 
is that of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ." 

A greater than the one referred to has said: 
" Study to show thyself approved unto God, a 
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly 
dividing the word of truth." 

But to divide the word of truth " rightly," 
means, that the man of God must be a 
poet, a statesman, a historian, a logician, a 
philosopher, a scientist, all in one. That is to 
say, he must possess a poetic turn of mind, must 
be alive to the current problems of the times, 
familiar with the historicity of things, capable 
of making deductions from great truths, of see- 
ing the philosophy, " the eternal fitness of 
things," and capable of applying scientific data. 
In a word, the man of God must be possessed of 
the larger vision, finding in all of life's varied 
and limitless environs " windows of the soul," 
through which he may look and, seeing, utilize 
in the illumination, interpretation and enforce- 
ment of the great truths of God. 

I. SPIRITUAL SYMBOLISM 

We have already said the Bible abounds in 
symbols, sublime metaphors, embodying the 
most suggestive truths. 

Take as an illustration the opening sentence 



20 THE LARGER VISION 

of the book: "In the beginning — God." 
Reading between the lines, we have " a glorious 
archway connecting the unknown past with the 
known present." I had rather have been the 
author of this sentence than to have written 
the immortal dramas of Shakespeare or, as 
the commanding general, won the battle of Wa- 
terloo. And though adown the ages skeptics and 
scientific unbelievers have made this. archway a 
target, against which to direct the shafts of 
would be annihilation, though master minds 
have advanced the theories of " Spontaneous 
Generation," " Natural Selection," " The Ori- 
gin of Species," etc. — after the Darwins, Hux- 
ley s, Spencers, etc., have shot their last bolt, 
the old archway stands forth as a veritable Gib- 
raltar of strength. 

" In the beginning " — " the words carry back 
the mind, awed and bewildered, age after age, 
century after century, back on back to that 
immeasurably distant and dateless period when 
all that we now behold was not ; when no sun 
illumined the voids of space, no moon relieved 
the darkness of the night, nor star twinkled in 
the heavens ; when no sound, no motion had ever 
broken the stillness of the night ; when neither 
mind nor matter was found in all the dark 
profound ; when God was the alone existence ; 



THE IMAGERY OF THE BIBLE 21 

then, even then, He was, and was all that He 
now is, in wisdom, power, happiness and love." * 

Continuing, this same author relates how this 
world home was fitted and furnished for man's 
abode. " Electric shocks rent the clouds and 
vibrated the rocky strata ; volcanoes burned 
and belched in the morning of time ; earth- 
quakes, with shrug of shoulders, caused con- 
tinents to rock and reel like a drunken man or a 
storm-tossed ship at sea ; gigantic races browsed 
over the ancient continents and tiny corals toiled 
at the bottom of the sea — all working together 
under the direction of the divine workman to 
prepare for us this world home." 

What a storm of criticism has grown out 
of the expression relative to the space of time 
necessary to the creation of the world — " six 
days." To the thoughtful student of the word, 
however, what matter whether the figure six days 
be literal or figurative. Could not He, who 
could call into requisition such mighty agents 
as were employed, by a single and almighty 
fiat, have caused worlds to tremble into exis- 
tence; have created our world, and flung suns, 
moons and starry worlds into their places in a 
second's time, just as easily as in six days 
of twenty-four hours each, or six thousand 
* " Science and the Bible." 



22 THE LARGER VISION 

ages, since with Him " a thousand years are 
but as one day, and one day as a thousand 
years " ? 

What matters it whether Job was a man of 
flesh and blood or a mythical character, around 
whose life has been woven a web of inspiring 
narrative, — connected with whose experience 
the heavens became tranformed into an arsenal 
of destruction, razing his houses to their very 
foundations, destroying his sheep and herds, 
whilst he himself is smitten with disease, and 
becomes a veritable mass of corruption, causing 
his wife to imagine that He who would thus 
afflict " a just man " could be nothing short of 
a monster, and to turn to her husband, exclaim- 
ing, " Curse God and die ; " but Job, un- 
moved, cries out : " Though He slay me, yet 
will I trust Him " ? The all important item 
of consideration is that men may possess a 
faith like unto that of Job, go down into the 
depths of adverse experience, and come forth 
unscathed. 

What matters it to the literary world 
whether Shakespeare is the author of the im- 
mortal dramas which bear his name? The all 
important consideration is that the world has 
been enriched beyond compare by the dramas 
themselves ; and if not the " Bard of Avon," 
then some one possessed of the genius of a 



THE IMAGERY OF THE BIBLE 23 

Shakespeare has placed a stupendous mortgage 
upon the world's gratitude. 

Some one has pertinently asked, " What's 
in a name? " and then, proceeding to answer 
his own question, has replied, " a rose would 
be just as fragrant if called by some other 
name." 

With flourish of trumpets the scientific unbe- 
liever, having with yard-stick gone to the pains 
of measuring the mouth and abdomen of the 
whale, and finding it inadequate to the purpose 
at hand, has gone forth to denounce the story 
of Jonah being swallowed by a whale as a base 
fabrication. If modern craftsmen can and do 
construct submarine boats in which men go 
down into the deep, could not God create a 
craft, " a great fish," to form a submarine abode 
for Jonah, during a period of three days and 
nights ? 

The all important truth symbolized and sanc- 
tioned by the Lord is that which has to do with 
His descent into the grave and His coming forth 
again; aye of the glorious truth that, because 
He rose again, we also shall come forth from the 
charnel house of death and dwell forever with 
Him. 

Perhaps one of the sublimest symbols con- 
tained in the book is that wonderful climax 
of expression found in the description of Isaiah 



2/fc THE LARGER VISION 

of the advent, suffering and ultimate triumph 
of the sinless Son of God. Rising from moun- 
tain peak to higher mountain peak of inspiring 
expression, at length, having apparently 
exhausted human phraseology, he exclaims: 
" And His name shall be called Wonderful, the 
Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, the Ever- 
lasting Father." 

Read between the lines of this sublime symbol 
and note how a thousand sermons grow out of 
the same. The " Mighty God," holding the 
reins of universal supremacy in one hand, and 
with the other hand stooping down to dry the 
tear of the mourner ; the " Everlasting Father," 
with almighty fiat causing worlds to tremble into 
being, giving expression to tenderness and 
sympathy and love, world wide and ages long; 
the " Prince of Peace," not with sword of con- 
quest, but with invisible chords of love " binding 
the whole round earth in chains of gold about 
the feet of God " ; the " Wonderful One," whose 
gift to the world impoverished heaven for the en- 
richment of earth with outreach of mercy, high 
as heaven, deep as hell and broad as the need of 
a common humanity. 

No wonder Isaiah has been called " the 
prince of prophets," the intellectual millionaire, 
the unapproachable climax builder; to him was 
reserved the sublime prerogative of character- 



THE IMAGERY OF THE BIBLE 25 

izing the thought and purpose of the All-Father 
relative to his children. 

From Genesis to Revelation the word of God 
abounds in spiritual symbolism such as, if fully 
elaborated, would form a book so large that the 
world would not be able to contain it. 

II. CONTRIBUTARY MATERIAL 

Having pondered the value of the imagery of 
the Bible, we will do well to note the fact that 
all about us, in the open book of nature and in 
the literary realm, are to be found contributary 
materials of an enriching character. 

Standing one day, looking into the bosom of 
Lake Profile, New Hampshire, my attention 
was directed to " The Old Man of the Moun- 
tains," a freak of nature on the summit of the 
mountain, twelve hundred feet above me, in the 
shape of a human face, forty feet from brow to 
tip of chin; and I was led to contemplate the 
fact that adown the storm-swept centuries 
this face had been gazing down upon Lake Pro- 
file, as if to reflect therein its own image, sug- 
gestive of the fact that adown the centuries an- 
other face, from the height of glory, has been 
looking down into the bosom of human hearts, 
seeking to reflect therein His own nature, and 
to lift us up into fellowship and communion 
with Himself. 



26 THE LARGER VISION 

Driving through the far-famed Yosemite 
Valley, I became conscious of the fact that 
old El Capitan, a veritable mountain of gran- 
ite, three-quarters of a mile long and seven- 
eighths of a mile high, seemed to be ever present 
with us, suggestive of that Scripture which de- 
clares : " If I ascend up to heaven, if I make 
my bed in hell, if I take the wings of the morn- 
ing, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the 
earth, even there shall thy hand lead me, and 
thy right hand shall hold me." 

Some years since I came across this beauti- 
ful characterization of the advent of the sweet 
springtime: "Up from the southland comes 
the springtime rolling her waves of green be- 
fore her, crested with the foam of daisies and 
buttercups, and dashing against our northern 
hills become broken into myriads of wild 
flowers." 

And what a sublime symbol is this of re- 
generation. Up from the southland of infinite 
love comes the sweet springtime of the new 
birth, rolling her waves of hope before her, 
crested with the foam of fervency of spirit, and 
dashing against the hillsides of spiritual apos- 
tasy, become broken into the more beautiful 
flowers of consecrated living. 

America's favorite poet is Longfellow, and 
herein lies the secret, in large part, to the hold 



THE IMAGERY OF THE BIBLE 27 

which he has gotten on all our hearts. It was 
near the close of the poet's life, and his friends 
thought his pen had been laid aside forever; 
and he doubtless shared this thought. But one 
day he is found starting up, and grasping his 
pen, wrote, what to me seems enough to im- 
mortalize any man. Looking back oyer the 
past of life, and recalling the rough, steep path- 
ways traversed, the burdens borne, the heart- 
aches endured, and recognizing the fact that 
others must make a similar journey, he penned 
these beautiful lines: 

" O little feet, that such long years 

Must wander on through hopes and fears, 
I, nearer to the wayside inn where fears shall end 
and hopes begin, 
Am weary, thinking of your load." 

" Thinking of your load " — how the words re- 
mind us of the spirit of Him who declared : " I 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minis- 
ter." 

Riding along on the train one day to meet a 
lecture engagement, to while away the time I 
purchased a volume of Opie Read's works. I 
do not now recall the name of the volume, or 
aught beside these words : " There are no cob- 
webs in the cottage in which love dwells, and if 
there were, every thread would become trans- 



28 THE LARGER VISION 

formed into a strand of gold." And I became 
obsessed by a new theme — the transforming 
power of love. 

Mr. Hawthorne, in one of his works, recites 
how an eccentric character determined to erect 
a house for himself, and for his materials 
selected gray, somber clouds. When the struc- 
ture was completed, it resembled more an ancient 
monastery than a modern manse. He then de- 
termined to illuminate it, and for his material 
selected a glorious evening's sunset, with which 
he gilded it from top to bottom. 

In this house of fancy was held a " select 
party," at which were present such characters 
as the " oldest inhabitant," the " patriot with- 
out partisanship," the " poet without ped- 
antry," the " priest without worldly ambition," 
etc. 

Entering this house of fancy the guests found 
one of the ceilings upborne by pillars of solid 
golden sunbeams, the room lighted up with chan- 
deliers of flaming meteors, whose dazzling light 
was tempered by globes of evening mist. 

And instantly there stood out before me the 
vision of " the house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens " ; of its environs of ever- 
lasting hills, in the distance ; of streets of gold, 
pearly gates and jasper walls; of fountains 
leaping into ethereal air, struck through and 



THE IMAGERY OF THE BIBLE 29 

through and dripping with light leaping from 
the throne — a home where no one is ever heard 
to say, " I am sick," and where we shall never 
grow weary and never grow old. 

In the beginning of my ministry I was brought 
in contact with a cultured, beautiful woman, the 
wife of a Methodist preacher. It was an ideal 
home, but that dread disease, diphtheria, en- 
tered the home and three lovely girls, their all, 
were laid away. The nervous strain was too 
great for the husband, and he broke under it; 
for a number of years that brave little woman 
stood at her post, trying to nurse him back to 
health and strength. At length the physicians 
decided that his only hope lay in a complete 
rest at a distant sanitarium. But the wife did 
not have the wherewithal to provide for such a 
journey, and some of us made up the amount 
and forwarded it to her. I shall never forget 
the acknowledgment of the remittance sent me 
— every sentence seemed dripping with her 
heart's gratitude. The letter closed with a 
quotation of these beautifully pathetic lines : 

" I know not where His islands lift 
Their fronded palms in air; 
I only know I cannot drift, 
Beyond His love and care." 

Oh, the imagery of the book of books, oh, 



30 THE LARGER VISION 

the contributary materials lying all about us, 
enriching in two worlds the soul who has the 
larger vision. 



UNSEEN FORCES 



" Narrow-visioned souls would have us believe 
that the world is hastening to an empty tomb; that 
' the age of poetry, romance, heroism has forever 
passed'; that the pen of the 'Bard of Avon' is 
grown rusty; that the shadow of great statesmen 
— the Lincolns, Gladstones, Bismarcks — no 
longer haunts the forum; that the voice of elo- 
quence of Beechers, Spurgeons, Simpsons, is for- 
ever stilled; that the sweep of vision of Isaiahs, 
Jeremiahs, Daniels, has lost its objective; that the 
creeds of Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, have vanished; 
that ' the harp of a Wagner is covered with the 
dust of oblivion ' ; that the veiled face of a Moses 
descending from a flaming Sinai, like meteors of 
light, ' tempered by globes of evening mist/ is but 
a memory; that the God of ancient days is dead. 

" But the man of larger vision will not have it so. 
He sees a world hastening toward a higher civiliza- 
tion; poetry, romance, heroism becoming idealized; 
the immortal dramas of a Shakspeare incarnated 
in daily living; the shadow of great statesmen 
grown into great republics; the eloquence of 
' silver-tongued orators ' grown into more eloquent 
acts and deeds ; the prophetic vision realized in 
events familiar; the creeds of leaders in ecclesi- 
astical forums flowering into philanthropy, educa- 
tional centers ; good angels of light, clad in the 
robes of humanity, wending their way into the dark 
places of the earth; the light of the Ten Command- 
ments illumining a sin-darkened world. 

" God is not dead, but alive forevermore." 

— L. 



Ill 

UNSEEN FORCES 

What fireside has not been regaled by the 
tales of Bagdad of the eleventh century, known 
as the " Arabian Nights," in which " favored 
persons were found invoking the aid of fairies, 
sprites, genii, etc, in the acquisition of wealth, 
fame and beautiful brides " ? 

The product of a vivid imagination, these 
tales have traveled the world around. 

Had the author of " Arabian Nights " lived 
in our day, without drawing upon his imagin- 
ation he had found materials at hand — the 
forces and influences utilized by men in daily 
living — outrivaling all his own materials, and 
that without exciting a breath of suspicion as to 
their reality. 

I have seen in Oriental countries frail women 
as beasts of burden, bearing on their heads or 
shoulders earthen jugs of water for the house- 
hold. In our day we have substituted gravi- 
tation to perform this service, and lo, water in 
abundance to supply kitchen and lavatories, 
" leaps and laughs with pearly spray " in every 

well regulated household. 

33 



34 THE LARGER VISION 

Had the author of " Arabian Nights " been 
permitted, like the author of " Looking Back- 
ward," to have annihilated the flood of years 
and looked upon this modern utility — this 
force of gravitation — at work, what a tale he 
had had to add to his collection. 

Standing under the shadow of the Cheops 
Pyramid, I was minded of the statement of the 
historian, Herodotus, that it required one hun- 
dred thousand men, toiling for twenty years, to 
erect this tomb for a dead king. 

In our age of the world, through the use of 
mechanical genius, we have erected skyscrapers 
outrivaling the great pyramid, fitting and fur- 
nishing these, where dwell the captains of in- 
dustry, supplemented by hundreds of subordi- 
nates — in touch with the world at large — 
carrying forward the world's business ; and yet 
we erect one of these skyscrapers, with a com- 
paratively small number of workers, inside of 
a few months. 

Given the larger vision, and all about us, in 
the temporal and spiritual realms, are found 
forces which make for the enrichment of human- 
kind. The vast universe, in a mighty chorus 
of voices, ranging from the gentle zephyr fan- 
ning the heated brow — suggestive of the elec- 
tric fan — to the thunder crashing along the 
mountains of the skies — the forerunner of re- 



UNSEEN FORCES 35 

freshing showers — bespeaks forces designed to 
be the burden bearers for man. 

When a lad on the farm in the early morning, 
driving the cows to pasture, my attention was 
oft directed to the intricate network, the finely 
woven web of the spider, surpassing in mechan- 
ical genius the greatest achievement of man, 
which had been accomplished in a single night. 
Did the creator of the famous Brooklyn Bridge 
sit at the feet of the tiny spider and learn how 
to form those stupendous arches of steel? 

The diligent ant, building a home for itself 
and young, reminds us of the sublimer task 
committed to mortals of engaging in the work 
of erection of the great, mysterious temple of 
righteousness. " Go to the ant, thou sluggard, 
consider her ways, and be wise." (Proverbs 
6: 6.) 

When a refugee from home, with heart broken 
over the usurpation of the throne by the profli- 
gate and unscrupulous Absalom, his own son, 
David, in the midnight hour — suggestive of the 
darker night-time of his experience — listened 
to the roar of the deep, as if responding to the 
noise of the water brooks, suggestive of the 
heart of the All-Father beating out in sym- 
pathetic throb to the heartache and heartbreak 
of His children. " Deep calleth unto deep at 
the noise of thy waterspouts ; all thy waves and 



36 THE LARGER VISION 

thy billows are gone over me." (Psalm 42 : 
7.) 

I. UNSEEN FORCES 

Encamped at Dothan was the man upon 
whose shoulders had descended the mantle of 
Elijah, the prophet Elisha. 

The mere mention of Dothan suffices to grip 
the thought and command the attention of the 
biblical student, being associated with historic 
events, fascinating in character. Was it not 
here that Joseph was sold into slavery by jeal- 
ous brethren, after having been thrown into the 
dry pit to rot and die — his dreams perishing 
with him? But presently another opportunity 
to visit upon him a more terrible punishment 
appeared in the shape of a caravan, bound for 
the land of the Pharaohs. And as his new 
master led Joseph away, I have thought I could 
hear his brethren murmuring, " Down in Egypt, 
through years of heart-breaking bondage, he 
will have plenty of time to* ponder the signifi- 
cance of dreams of superiority." Had their 
eyes been opened, they had seen that they were 
unwittingly assisting to fulfill the dreams of 
Joseph, and that by and by, when gaunt famine 
had stalked through Canaan, in quest of bread 
they should be found bowing very low, in Ori- 
ental custom, before the prime minister of 



UNSEEN FORCES 37 

Egypt, who, though unknown to them, is none 
other than Joseph. 

" God works in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perform; 
He plants His footsteps in the sea, 
And rides upon the storm/' 

Encamped at Dothan, Elisha had succeeded 
in thwarting the plans of Benhadad, engaged in 
warfare with Israel, revealing these plans to the 
commander of the army of the living God. 
Benhadad, in a spirit of pent-up rage, sum- 
moned his soldiery into his presence, demanding 
the name of the spy or spies who had done this 
thing. Upon being informed that the guilty 
party was not within their ranks, but rather was 
none other than the Prophet Elisha, possessed 
of superior powers of discernment, Benhadad 
resolved to capture and put to death Elisha, at 
any cost. Accordingly, during the night-time 
he caused the mountain surrounding Dothan to 
be compassed by horses and chariots, that on the 
morrow he might accomplish his design. 

Very early the next morning, the young man 
servant of the prophet, upon going out to re- 
connoiter, came rushing pellmell back to the 
prophet, exclaiming : " My Lord, the moun- 
tain is full of horses and chariots." And Elisha 
prayed the Lord to open the eyes of the young 



38 THE LARGER VISION 

man that he might see what he, the prophet, 
saw. The prayer being answered, the young 
man was amazed to behold other horses and 
chariots — even those of the Most High — and 
was prepared to appreciate the words of his 
master : " Fear not, for they that be with us 
are more than they that be with them." 

Profane history stresses the fact that the 
Babylonian captivity — the three deportations 
of 597, 586 and 581 B.C., in which some 50,000 
souls, all told, were made exiles for TO years 
— was but an incident in history, the method 
of the Assyrians in dealing with revolting and 
vassal nations. The larger vision, however, re- 
calls to us the fact that had Judah been true 
to God instead of wandering off into spiritual 
apostasy, the mighty Babylonian hand, reaching 
out from the metropolis of antiquity to enslave 
the inhabitants of Canaan, had been paralyzed 
ere it had harmed the Israel of God. 

See, then, an unseen force — the hand of God 
in history: After the chastening of Israel for 
seventy years (during which time all leanings 
towards Polytheism have become eliminated, and 
the repentant hearts of exiles are found reach- 
ing out towards the living God) as Cyrus of 
Persia, the chosen agency of the Most High, 
digs a canal or moat about Babylon through 



UNSEEN FORCES 39 

which the waters of the Euphrates, which ran 
through the city, were diverted on that memor- 
able night during the bacchanalian feast of 
Belshazzar, Cyrus' army marched up the dry 
river bed, past the outer walls (300 feet high 
and 87 feet thick), past the two brazen-leaved 
gates of prophecy, which by chance had been 
left open — did I say left open by chance? 
rather let me say in the language of another: 
" Eternal God that chance did guide " — and 
without a single blow captured the famous city, 
liberating and sending the exiles back to their 
native land. 

But why journey so far afield for an illustra- 
tion of unseen forces? In our own times, dur- 
ing the dark days of the " Boxer uprising, 55 
under the leadership of Rev. Conger, a Meth- 
odist missionary, the American legation marched 
up the river bed, under the walls of the city of 
Peking, and when China awoke to the real situ- 
ation she was looking into the mailed fist of 
the allied forces of Christendom — and the gate- 
ways of China for all time swung open wide to 
the missionaries of the cross — the Boxer up- 
rising proving to be but an unseen force in 
which " the wrath of man was made to praise 
Him. 55 

Unbelievers have caviled at " the unseen 



40 THE LARGER VISION 

forces " which thundered down the walls of Jeri- 
cho, the plowshare of omnipotence which 
carved a passageway through the Red Sea, 
" the stars which in their courses fought against 
Sisera," the Hebrew children who became im- 
pervious to the flames of the seven times heated 
fiery furnace, the response to the audacious de- 
mand of Joshua, crying out: " Sun, stand 
thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, moon, in the 
valley of Ajelon." Even believers have gone 
so far as to concede the absence of the miracu- 
lous element in our day. 

But over against all this I place that miracu- 
lous event in modern history connected with the 
Spanish-American war, in which the fleet of 
Admiral Dewey sailed into Manila Harbor, 
smashing the fleet of the enemy to kindling wood 
without the loss of a man or a single vessel; 
though, if the leaden hail hurled from the Span- 
ish forts and ships had been placed on the 
decks of the ships of Admiral Dewey, it had 
sunken them by its sheer weight. 

Have we not witnessed men standing amidst 
the flames of trial — fiercer than the seven times 
heated fiery furnace of days agone — becoming 
a target against which all the infernal sugges- 
tions of the enemy have been directed — coming 
forth unscathed, crying out in tones of tri- 
umph : " None of these things move me " ? 



UNSEEN FORCES 41 

!< The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose, 
I'll never, no never desert to his foes; 
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to 
shake, 
I'll never, no never, no never forsake." 

II. AN ALL-CONQUERING FAITH 

The supremest triumphs achieved by men in 
any world are those which have grown out of 
an exercise of an all-conquering faith laying 
hold of and utilizing unseen forces in the ac- 
complishment of the desired end. What inspir- 
ation is that growing out of a contemplation of 
the exercise of faith in the temporal world — 
faith which is akin to that found in the spiritual 
realm — men who have faith in themselves, their 
environment and their fellows, the absence of 
which makes for our undoing! The greatest 
panics which our nation has ever experienced 
have been the immediate outgrowth of an 
absence of faith, otherwise called confidence. 

We are scarcely prepared to appreciate the 
bounds of progress made by the world in the 
last century. If some aged Rip Van Winkle 
belonging to a former age were to rise up from 
his long sleep and were to behold the advanced 
stage of the world of to-day, he would rub his 
eyes in bewilderment and wonder where the world 
is drifting to. 



42 THE LARGER VISION 

Inspired by visions of triumphs viewed from 
afar, men have honeycombed hills and moun- 
tains, laying hold of unseen forces with which 
they have bound and blended the world into a 
huge whispering gallery; have harnessed Niag- 
aras, utilizing unseen forces to turn the wheels 
of human industry; have bored gimlet holes 
through the Berkshires to form Hoosac Tun- 
nels ; digged Panama Canals ; opened up dark 
continents ; conquered the air ; and marching 
triumphantly up to the North Pole, " trans- 
formed it into a flagstaff from which to fly the 
stars and stripes." 

Among the polar regions this phenomenon may 
be observed, icebergs drifting north and larger 
icebergs drifting south at the same time. It 
was one of these which became responsible for 
the world-wide disaster, the destruction of the 
" Titanic " not long since. 

The explanation of this phenomenon is very 
simple. The ocean is made up of upper and 
under currents. Large icebergs reach from 
five to eleven times farther below the water line 
than they rise above it. The smaller icebergs, 
caught in the arms of the upper currents, are 
found drifting north, whilst the larger icebergs, 
reaching far beneath the surface, are caught 
up in the arms of the mightier under currents 
and are found drifting south. 



UNSEEN FORCES 43 

And herein is revealed the secret to the suc- 
cess or failure of men in the spiritual realm. 
How many times we have witnessed, with heart- 
ache, this spectacle — men who are not rooted 
and grounded in the faith being caught up in 
the arms of worldliness, drifting towards the 
polar regions in the spiritual experience, where 
abound lukewarmness, indifference, apathy, and 
ultimately becoming lost to the church. On 
the other hand, how we have become enthralled, 
as we have looked upon great souls — men 
rooted and grounded in the faith reaching down, 
down beneath the upper currents of worldliness ; 
down, on down, until they are gripped by might- 
ier under currents, the unseen forces — God's 
keeping power, marching triumphantly for- 
ward. 

Held in the grip of these unseen currents of 
spiritual power, men have developed integrity, 
impervious to the taint of graft, greed, vice; 
enabling them to " handle all the world's gold, 
without any of its dust adhering to the palms of 
their hands " — to develop nobility, manhood, 
character such as commands the admiration and 
respect of their fellows. 

Herein is found the explanation to the 
triumphant experience of Job in direst extrem- 
ity, when even his wife advises him to " curse 
God and die," as he rises superior to all the 



44 THE LARGER VISION 

forces of evil, and cries out : " Though He 
slay me, yet will I trust Him." 

Herein likewise is found the secret to the 
faith of the great apostle, Paul, when ship- 
wrecked, imprisoned, stoned and left for dead 
by the wayside. And bending over his pros- 
trate form and whispering in his ear the words, 
" Paul, had you not better give up this business 
of propagating the kingdom of righteousness," 
in a whisper, which grows into a mighty shout, 
whose echo and re-echo is heard the world 
around, he exclaims : " None of these things 
move me," he was held in the grip of unseen 
spiritual forces. 

Oh, the triumph of such a faith, enabling him 
to stand fast in the faith, to rise superior to his 
environment, to rise on wings of faith until he 
beholds an ultimate and spiritual heritage of 
" dominions, thrones, principalities, powers " 
yonder, to be his for aye and for aye ! 

Oh, the unseen forces laying hold of him, 
enabling him to exclaim : " Who shall separate 
us from the love of Christ; shall tribulation, or 
distress, or persecution, or famine, or naked- 
ness, or peril, or sword? . . . For I am per- 
suaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pres- 
ent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, 
nor any other creature shall be able to separate 



UNSEEN FORCES 45 

us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus 
the Lord!" 

III. A FINAL TEST 

I have already anticipated a little the con- 
cluding thought in this chapter — the final test 
of the unseen forces round and about God's 
Israel. A further word let me say, by way of 
answer to a question which has been asked again 
and again : " Will these unseen forces, this 
spiritual heritage, stand the final test? " 

I might answer this question by way of re- 
ferring to the ultimate outcome, in which the 
unseen forces of the Most High completely put 
to rout the forces of Benhadad, yonder at 
Dothan ; or by which the forces of Sisera were 
put to ignominious confusion; or the ultimate 
triumph of Joshua, as, during the prolonged 
day, he added the finishing touches to his work 
in the destruction of the last remnant of his 
foes. 

I choose to answer by way of directing your 
attention to an illustration taken from " Parish 
Astronomy." 

" Imagine an immense castle, whose builder, 
after he had completed it and had locked and 
bolted all the doors, threw away the key. 

" For centuries, men wandering on the out- 
side sought in vain to find the key. One day 



46 THE LARGER VISION 

one of these searchers, after all others had 
despaired of finding the key, stumbled upon 
something resembling a key, and holding it in 
his hand, murmured : ' I wonder if this might 
not be the long lost key ? ' 

" With fluttering heart and trembling hand 
he approached the outer door, applied the key, 
and the outer door stood ajar. Passing within, 
again he applied the key, which was so con- 
structed as to fit any lock, and door after door 
swung ajar, and he entered in and enjoyed to 
the full the wonders of the castle." 

The author of " Parish Astronomy " has 
made the application of this illustration to the 
great castle of the skies. The key referred to 
is that of gravitation which, held in the hand of 
Newton, unlocked the outer gateways, and in the 
hands of his successors unlocked all the prin- 
cipal gateways to the skies doors of oak, 

doors of iron, doors of brass, all swinging wide 
open. But by-and-by some doubting Thomas 
comes along and says, " Mr. Newton, don't you 
think you may be mistaken about this key — 
off yonder to the right are some minor doors 
which you have not tested — off yonder to your 
left are some minor doors which you have not 
tested — after all, may it not be that you are 
mistaken about this key of gravitation? " 

And the author of • Parish Astronomy " 



UNSEEN FORCES 47 

turns on this man and asks, " You old fool, when 
did you get out of the insane asylum? " 

To still another castle would I apply this 
illustration — even the mysterious castle of the 
spiritual life. With the key of faith in our 
hands we have opened doors of oak, doors of 
iron, doors of brass, doors of unnumbered and 
difficult experiences. Out yonder is the outer 
door of regeneration, which on application of 
the key of faith has swung ajar; following this 
is the door of justification, sanctification — the 
doors of affliction, sorrow, persecution, etc., — 
and all have swung open wide. 

And now perchance some destructive higher 
critic is found coming our way, who suggests 
to us that after all we may be mistaken about 
this key of faith — that out yonder are some 
minor experiences to the right, and over yonder 
some other and minor experiences to the left not 
opened — that perhaps we have been deluded by 
the possibilities of this key of faith. 

And, not using the harsh expression of the 
author of " Parish Astronomy," I turn to this 
would be destroyer of my faith and say : " Get 
out of my way, my friend, while I shout with 
Alfred Cookman : 6 1 am sweeping through the 
gates, washed in the blood of the Lamb ; ' while 
I shout with the apostle Paul : ; I am now 
ready to be offered and the time of my depart- 



48 THE LARGER VISION 

ure is at hand; I have fought a good fight, I 
have finished my course, I have kept the faith; 
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, will give me in that day ; and not unto 
me only, but unto all them which love His ap- 
pearing. 5 

" Get out of my way while I shout the praises 
of God here, and make ready to join the ran- 
somed hosts as they shout yonder : ' Unto Him 
that loved us, and washed us from our sins in 
His own blood, and hath made us priests and 
kings unto God and His Father ; to Him be 
glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 5 55 



WITH STARS AS TEACHERS 



" Go out beneath the arched heavens at night and 
say, if you can, ' There is no God/ Pronounce that 
dreadful blasphemy, and each star above you will 
reproach the unbroken darkness of your intellect; 
every voice that floats upon the night winds will 
bewail your utter hopelessness and folly. ,, 

— The Royal Path of Life. 

" See where the sun, with face of unsufferable 
splendor, goes swimming through the day; see 
where the soft and silver moon, with fleets of stars, 
goes swimming through the night — what eloquent 
silence. Our dinned ears and hearts are soothed. 
Our petty cares and excitements are hushed. Both 
body and soul are insensibly calmed and refreshed 
as we gaze into the immeasurable silence." 

— Ecce Coelum. 

" And they that be wise shall shine as the bright- 
ness of the firmament; and they that turn many 
to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." 

— Psalms, 12:3. 



IV 
WITH STARS AS TEACHERS 

Seated in my room in " Hotel Jerusalem " 
one evening, after a full day of sight-seeing in 
the holy city, busied with my notebook (the 
tourist who fails to take notes loses much that 
is of value, once the journey is ended) my little 
traveling companion (Mrs. L.), who was out on 
the balcony, called to me ; " O, dear, do come out 
and see the stars ; I never saw them look so 
beautiful before." 

Passing out where she was, I found it to be 
true: the stars appeared to be much nearer the 
earth, and to shine brighter than I had ever seen 
them in our Western Hemisphere; it seemed, 
indeed, as if they were endeavoring to be real 
neighborly — desirous of engaging us in con- 
versation. 

If we have eyes to see, ears to hear, and 

hearts to feel, our environs of earth and sea and 

sky, in a language not as difficult to master as 

the dead languages, " will be found eager to talk 

with us, imparting knowledge such as we may 

not elsewhere acquire." 

The greatest o*f all teachers, the Master, 

51 



52 THE LARGER VISION 

emphasized this thought one day. Reaching 
down and plucking a lily of the field, and hold- 
ing it in His hand, He said : " Consider the 
lily, how it grows." That is to say, if we will 
but take the pains to learn the language of the 
lily, it will become an eloquent instructor touch- 
ing spiritual growth, development, maturity. 

Having learned the language of the brook, 
Tennyson was found sitting at the feet of this 
instructor in the natural world, enjoying a rare 
companionship the while — 

" I come from haunts of coot and hern ; 
I make a sudden sally, 
And sparkle out among the fern, 
To bicker down the valley. 

" By thirty hills I hurry down, 
Or slip between the ridges, 
By twenty thorps, a little town, 
And half a hundred bridges. 

" I chatter, chatter as I flow 
To join the brimming river; 
For men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever/' 

Is it too much to say that the brook was trying 
to impart to Tennyson, and through him to us 
all, the importance of a recognition of the doc- 
trine of " eternal progression " ? 



WITH STARS AS TEACHERS 53 

Under the breath of old Boreas, the ocean, 
lashed into a perfect cauldron, may be heard 
sobbing out in a voice resembling that of human 
heartbreak ; but when the storm is o'er, and with 
glassy surface reflecting the glory of clear skies, 
the sea becomes a sublime symbol, reminding us 
of the time when " there shall be no more seas 
of sorrow — when God shall wipe away all tears 
from all eyes." 

Oh, the melodies of winged songsters ! Oh, 
the music of singing pines ! Oh, the richer 
melodies of the stars — 

" Forever singing, as they shine, 
' The hand that made us is divine/ s 

David was wont to engage in conversation 
with the stars, taking his first lessons when a 
lad, watching over a handful of sheep committed 
to his keeping ; and later, after a strenuous day 
in performance of the duties of ruler of the 
nation, feeling " the call of the wild," perhaps 
in thought, perhaps literally, hastening to the 
mountain fastnesses to look into the faces of his 
boyhood companions ; and coming back to give 
expression to the sublime declaration : " The 
heavens declare the glory of God, etc." 

Had David lived in our day and been per- 
mitted to look, not through the natural eye, 
beholding six thousand stars, but rather through 



54 THE LARGER VISION 

the great telescope of Lick Observatory, Cali- 
fornia, beholding approximately a thousand mil- 
lion starry worlds ; aye, had David been per- 
mitted to carry out the suggestion of the author 
of " Parish Astronomy," taking his position on 
the last discovered star, and, looking through a 
telescope with sweep of vision a thousand-fold 
greater than that at Lick Observatory, gazing 
upon the countless millions of cluster systems 
and group systems and planet systems and sun 
systems and world systems spread out in pano- 
ramic vision, beggaring description — what 
then? Then I have thought with enthralled 
soul he had exclaimed : " How great is God, 
how insignificant is man ! " 

The apostle Paul was likewise given to culti- 
vating the acquaintance of the stars, and, with 
soul flooded with inspiration growing out of one 
of these experiences, in which the stars suggested 
to him a glorious truth touching the resurrec- 
tion, cried out : " There is one glory of the 
sun, and another glory of the moon, and another 
glory of the stars ; for one star differeth from 
another star in glory. 

" So also is the resurrection of the dead. It 
is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorrup- 
tion ; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory ; 
it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it 



WITH STARS AS TEACHERS 55 

is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual 
body." 

And yet, who among us can bring himself to 
believe that Paul did not learn, as we may learn, 
from the stars other lessons of vital importance 
touching human experience lying this side of the 
grave? Hence the theme of this chapter: 
" With Stars as Teachers. 9 ' 

I. THE MESSAGE OF THE SUN 

Seated at the feet of the sun, let us learn the 
sublime message which this instructor in the 
natural world would whisper in our ears. To 
be sure, there are many messages, many sym- 
bolic truths, growing out of a more intimate 
acquaintance with the sun ; it may surprise you 
to know that no less than one hundred and 
twenty-one times do the inspired writers of the 
Bible direct our attention to symbolic truths all 
borrowed from the sun. 

You have perhaps noted the value of the 
headlight on the locomotive. How the engineer, 
gripping the throttle of the great engine on a 
dark night, would be haunted by " ghosts of 
doubts and fears," in the absence of this medium 
of illumination — conscious all the time of the 
fact that some unseen obstacle lying on the 
track might wreck the train, entailing a fearful 
loss of life and property. 



56 THE LARGER VISION 

A similar service is rendered by the electric 
headlight on the modern automobile throwing 
its flood of light in advance of the machine, pro- 
tecting the occupants and protecting other and 
approaching vehicles. 

Have you ever watched a searchlight exhibi- 
tion of a great war fleet, on the high seas ? For 
a distance of twenty miles great arms of light, 
encircling the fleet, seem to be searching out an 
approaching enemy — a spectacular and inspir- 
ing pastime in time of peace, but a source of 
invaluable protection in time of war. 

But a greater sheen is that projected by the 
sun. Across the mighty abyss of space, at a 
distance of 37,000,000 miles, it lights up Mer- 
cury ; at a distance of 68,000,000 miles Venus is 
lighted up ; at a distance of 95,000,000 miles our 
earth is illumined; at a distance of 140,000,000 
miles Mars is furnished with illumination ; at a 
distance of 495,000,000 miles Jupiter is lighted ; 
at a distance of 1,800,000,000 miles Uranus is 
illuminated; whilst at a distance of 2,800,000,- 
000 miles Neptune is furnished light. 

We have thought it a marvelous thing in 
seven minutes we flash a telegraphic message 
from continent to continent ; but if we were able 
to locate a telegraphic station on the rim of the 
physical universe, it would require fifteen years 
to send a message to our earth. 



WITH STARS AS TEACHERS 57 

What a sublime symbol, then, have we herein 
of the source of spiritual illumination ordained 
of God to illumine the moral world. This was 
the thought which the psalmist had in mind 
when he declared : " For the Lord God is a 
sun and shield ; the Lord will give grace and 
glory ; no good thing will He withhold from 
them that walk uprightly." (Psalm 84:11.) 

A similar thought likewise was that held in 
the mind of the last of the prophetic band, 
Malachi : " But unto you that fear my name 
shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing 
in his wings ; and ye shall go forth, and grow 
up as calves of the stall." (Malachi 4:2.) 

Amazing thought that you and I may have 
our pathways leading from earth to> glory, 
illumined by the white light of gospel truth, re- 
vealing every obstacle lying in our way, whilst, 
with a shield of light impervious to the fiery 
darts of the enemy, march forward, triumphant 
in the faith; and at the last, like the prophet 
Elijah, in a chariot of light ride up the shining 
steeps, and enter the eternal City, forever to 
enjoy the presence of the Author of spiritual 
illumination. 

In the face of such encompassment of light, 
is it not the marvel of marvels that even the 
saints of God are betimes held in the relentless 
grip of doubts and fears, afraid lest there be 



58 THE LARGER VISION 

not light enough to furnish a solution to those 
mysterious problems growing out of human ex- 
perience; that sometimes we seem to stand on 
" an earth that is iron, gazing up into a heaven 
of brass, whilst no cross of victory, like unto 
that of Constantine of old, is beheld painted 
against the northern sky " ? 

Imagine the tiny flower growing by the way- 
side, fearful lest there be not light enough in 
the sun for its use. Imagine the snowflake 
hovering over the shoulder of the great moun- 
tain, afraid lest the mountain be not strong 
enough to bear its weight. 

That intellectual millionaire, Bishop Quayle, 
has aptly used this illustration: 

" Suppose the cup which holds Lake Tahoe were 
dry as dust, with great, deep hollows which the 
hand of God, in moments of laughter, had hollowed 
out — suppose Lake Tahoe were dry as a skull. 
But yonder stand the mountains with snow-crowned 
summits, and adown the mountain gullies sing the 
laughing streams; and the inroads of the sky and 
the adjacency of the mountains and the shelter of 
the pines give to the snowdrifts all — all that is 
wanted to fill Lake Tahoe to the full with water. 

" Tell me, my friends, is there any need for Lake 
Tahoe to be dry? Tell me this: when the moun- 
tains are ready to give their snowdrifts, and the 
streams singing their way down the mountains are 
ready to furnish their waters, and the pines sobbing 



WITH STARS AS TEACHERS 59 

out, ' We are ready to fill thee, Lake Tahoe, we 
are waiting to make thee a drinking cup for the 
gods/ is there any reason why Lake Tahoe should 
be empty ? " 

O, child of earth, beset by doubts and fears, 
fling open wide the doors and windows of the 
soul, and light, abundance of light, shall flood 
all thy life, and no darkness at all shall remain, 
for God Himself is the light. 

II. SHINING WITH BORROWED LIGHT 

It is a well-known fact that, whilst the sun 
is the center of the solar universe, there are 
other centers which, shining with borrowed rays 
of light, illumine the orbs encircling them. The 
moon is an illustration of this thought. Who 
has not been charmed by the glory of a perfect 
night, with meandering books and shimmering 
lakes, wind-parted boughs of the forest, and 
silver rivers — the result of moonbeams spilled 
upon the earth — but all this is reflected light, 
light borrowed from the sun. 

In like manner, while Christ is the center of 
the moral universe, responsible for all the spir- 
itual illumination requisite to the uplift and re- 
demption of the world, the work itself is 
accomplished through the medium of a glorified 
humanity — glorified in that He has elected that 
we should become the radiating centers through 



60 THE LARGER VISION 

which spiritual illumination is given to the 
world. 

He elects, not that legions of angels or arch- 
angels, who might well covet the honor and 
privilege, shall become the centers, giving out 
to a lost world the light of help and hope and 
heaven ; rather does He commit to mortality 
this sublime mission. 

The man of God, standing behind the sacred 
desk, wins for himself stars of rejoicing only 
in as far as he reflects the true light of God. 

The captains of industry, the leaders of the 
social realm, the recognized spirits of the pro- 
fessional world, intellectual giants, the states- 
man wielding the scepter of supremacy over his 
constituency, the men who write the world's 
poetry, fling upon the canvas pictures which be- 
come master-pieces — in a word, from the high- 
est to the lowest centers of influence wielded 
over the lives of their fellows, make for the 
world's highest civilization only in as far as 
they reflect the light of the Christ of God. 

The mother, endowed with that indescribable 
something which for want of a better name we 
call mother-love, reflecting the true light, 
wields an influence which extends all the way 
through this life, which goes down into the 
grave, which grows up into eternity, which is 
never lost. Hence it is that, impelled by a 



WITH STARS AS TEACHERS 61 

flood of sacred memories, strong men, wending 
their way to the city of the dead, stand over a 
grave, grown green, to shed a tear and mutely 
confess, " All that I am or ever expect to be, 
under God, I owe to the one who lies here ;" 
and hence it is that aged men, whose pilgrimage 
is nearly ended, lingering by the river's brink, 
are heard to murmur, almost unconsciously, as 
again in thought they kneel at mother's knee: 
" ' Now I lay me down to sleep,' " or, " ' Our 
Father who art in heaven.' " 

" And I, if I be uplifted, will draw all men 
unto me " is but another w T ay of saying, 
" Through the radiating centers of human life 
I purpose reflecting that light which shall make 
for the uplift and redemption of a lost world." 

III. UNNAMED STARS 

Astronomers have mentioned but a few names 
of stars which adorn the heavens ; such as the 
sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Saturn, 
the moon, etc., which, like monarchs of light, 
stand out conspicuously. 

Some one has said: "Among the countless 
millions of worlds which adorn the skies there 
are less than twenty of the first magnitude ; 
among the countless numbers of men who have 
inhabited this earth, there are less than twenty 
of the first magnitude." 



62 THE LARGER VISION 

Did you ever pause to inquire why the names 
of all the stars are not given — why countless 
millions of orbs are unnamed? The answer is 
found in the fact that approximately a thousand 
million orbs belong to the starry world, and that 
an attempt to name all of these would bankrupt 
human nomenclature. None besides Him who 
sits upon the circle of the universe, could coin 
sufficient names to go round. 

Sufficient for His purpose — a purpose which 
bulks big with significance — is the fact that all 
these countless orbs unite to form the sum total 
of that physical glory forming a background for 
our world home. 

In like manner, the countless millions of faith- 
ful souls whose dwelling-place is this earth must 
live and die, unknown to the world at large. But 
He knows all of our names — He does not for- 
get to reward the giving of " a cup of cold 
water " to a thirsty soul ; and He has ordained 
that the combined love and devotion, the 
merged fidelity of all the saints, shall constitute 
the sum total of that glory growing out of a 
redeemed humanity. 

He knows — oh, the music of the remem- 
brance, echoing and re-echoing in the human 
soul — He knows ; and that will suffice for us all. 
Just as the trained eye of the artist detects the 
slightest stroke or shade of pencil requisite to 



WITH STARS AS TEACHERS 63 

the masterpiece which enthralls the hearts of 
men possessed of the aesthetic taste; just as the 
musical director detects the slightest inharmony 
of a single voice among a thousand voices ren- 
dering the great oratorio, the divine Artist 
takes note of each line of duty, each shade of 
character reflecting His life, and takes note of 
the slightest inharmony of any single life out 
of tune with the Infinite. 

And what matters the absence of commen- 
dation of the world if at the last He shall look 
over our life-work, and stamp it with the seal 
of never-fading glory : " Well done." 



THE REGAL SPIRIT 



" Edison knows more about phonographs in a 
minute than Socrates would in a million years; and 
Socrates, who constructed a raft of reason on which 
he put out into the dark sea, knew more about the 
arguments for immortality in a minute than Edison 
will in another million years." 

— Hillis. 

" Scientists tell us that the dewdrop reposing in 
the heart of a rose reflects approximately a thou- 
sand million worlds — the vast physical universe. 
The regal spirit, having * eternity set in the heart/ 
reflects dominions, thrones, principalities, powers 
— the ageless life beyond the stars/' 

— L. 

" For all things are yours, whether Paul or 
Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, 
or things present, or things to come — all are yours 
and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's." 

— Paul. 



THE REGAL SPIRIT 

From my study window one day I saw a 
number of schoolboys lining up on the street, 
two and two abreast, under the leadership of a 
little lad. Glancing down the line, I noted the 
fact that many of the boys were larger and older 
than their leader — that ever and anon they were 
found playing pranks on each other, getting out 
of line; and then the little lad would swing his 
arms and stamp his foot, crying out sharply, 
" Back into line, back into line," and they 
obeyed him instantly. 

And I could not resist the question, Why do 
not some of these older and larger lads rebel? 
Why do they not turn to the little lad and say : 
" We are older and larger than you ; you get 
into line, and we will assume leadership " ? 

They did not do so because school lads, like 
older folks, have ever recognized the spirit of 
leadership the regal spirit. 

Note then this spirit of mastery asserting 

itself in later years, for it has been truthfully 

said: 

67 



68 THE LARGER VISION 

" Men are only boys grown tall, 
Hearts don't change much after all." 

Now we see the little lad possessed of the regal 
spirit grown to manhood, taking his rightful 
place — the place accorded him by the world 
just as naturally as it was accorded him by his 
playmates — as a world leader. 

Maybe it is in the literary world, where the 
pen takes the place of swinging arms and 
stamping feet, shaping and molding human 
thought, causing ennobling sentiment to swing 
into line; for there stands in the intellectual 
forum a recognized genius. 

Maybe it is on the field of battle, where a 
single flash of the eye transforms a whole regi- 
ment into so many fighting demons, causing them 
to exclaim: "Isn't he splendid? We will fol- 
low him anywhere." 

It may be in the industrial world where as a 
captain of industry, he becomes the genius mak- 
ing for " a greater New York," " a greater 
Chicago," a greater city in which he has taken 
up his abode. 

Or it may be in the spiritual realm, where a 
great soul, possessed of the regal spirit, in times 
of spiritual apostasy has become responsible for 
a wave of transforming influence and power 
which has given to the world a heavenward tend- 
ency, enriching humankind beyond compare. 



THE REGAL SPIRIT 69 

I. THE KINGDOM WITHIN 

One of the most startling revelations of truth 
given to the early disciples was that which was 
designed to completely disillusion them as to the 
character of the kingdom which Jesus came to 
establish in the earth. 

They had dreamed of a great temporal king- 
dom which should eclipse and absorb all the 
other kingdoms of the earth, of which the Mas- 
ter should be the Head and they the visible rep- 
resentatives. What a king He would be, He 
who had but to speak to the howling winds and 

roaring waves, and they were rocked to sleep 

what power to thunder into silence and submis- 
sion all adverse forces — He who had but to will 
that it should be so, and five loaves and two 
fishes became multiplied, furnished a meal for 
five thousand people, suggestive of the power 
at hand requisite to furnish all needed resources 
of a mighty kingdom. What a king He would 
make! And they would be the chief office- 
holder in this kingdom. Peter would doubtless 
be made prime minister, John would become 
secretary of state, Judas secretary of the treas- 
ury, and the other disciples would be given 
other portfolios. What a setting for the 
revelation of truth destined to paralyze all these 
dreams of earthly supremacy on the part of the 



70 THE LARGER VISION 

disciples was that afforded by the triumphal 
entry of Jesus into Jerusalem! 

The most famous highway leading into the 
eternal city, Rome, was known as the " Appian 
Way." Over this highway had marched Han- 
nibal at the head of the very flower of the Car- 
thaginian army, bent on the conquest of Rome. 
Up this highway came the flying messengers, 
announcing the result of the battle at Philippi 
— the fall of the republic. Over this highway 
came the noted prisoner, St. Paul, chained to 
the wrist of a Roman soldier, to be tried before 
Nero, whilst across the selfsame historic high- 
way came the cohorts of Aurelius, accompanied 
by the noted captive, Zenobia, bound in golden 
chains. 

But a more significant highway-to-be was 
that leading from Bethlehem to the holy city, 
Jerusalem, over which journeyed the Christ of 
God, on Palm Sunday to attend the feast of the 
Passover. 

On the way, Jesus paused, and addressing 
two of the disciples, bade them proceed to a 
neighboring village, doubtless Bethpage, where 
they should find an ass's colt, and to loose and 
bring the colt to Him, telling them that if the 
owner objected to this procedure to say; "The 
Lord hath need of him." " The Lord hath 
need of him "■ — what an emphatic emphasis of 



THE REGAL SPIRIT 71 

the sublime truth that, dominated by the regal 
spirit, the sons of men shall ever assume pro- 
prietorship of all that makes for the advance- 
ment of the interests of the kingdom ; and that, 
conscious of the superior demands of this spirit 
of regality, all men shall gladly asquiesce. 

Now the holy city, obscured by the shoulder 
of Mt. Olivet, hoves into view; the procession 
moves slowly downward into the Valley of Jehos- 
ophat, passes Gethsemane — when, as if by 
magic, the Master, in prophetic manner riding 
an ass's colt, accompanied by the disciples, is 
surrounded by surging multitudes, three mil- 
lions strong, who have come up to attend the 
Passover; and crossing the brook Kedron they 
approach the gates of the city, when suddenly 
by common impulse the vast throng seems to 
have become obsessed by the character of the 
Christ, and in a voice resembling the sound of 
many waters cries out : " Hosanna, hosanna, 
blessed is He that cometh in the name of the 
Lord." 

Now the scribes and Pharisees grind their 
teeth in rage, recognizing the fact that the 
crucial moment has arrived — that Jesus but 
needs to make a sign, utter a single syllable, 
and the crown of royalty shall rest upon His 
head. The desciples' joy of anticipation knows 
no bounds — the Master will be made king — 



7& THE LARGER VISION 

His loyal subjects are round about Him — » 
their dreams of supremacy are at the point of 
fulfillment — 

And lo, the Master turns away, refusing to 
avail Himself of the opportunity at hand, walk- 
ing soberly into the temple, an act which pro- 
claimed in tones louder than thunder crashing 
along the mountains of the skies that His king- 
dom is not of this world, dashing the hopes of 
temporal supremacy of His followers forever 
to the earth ; whilst for the first time the real 
significance of His words, " The kingdom is 
within you," dawned upon them. 

" The kingdom within " — henceforth this 
declaration is to become a world slogan, grow- 
ing out of which shall be the sweetest music of 
earth or heaven, even the music of a world's 
redemption. 

With souls enthralled by this music, the fol- 
lowers of the Master have witnessed " His 
pierced hand lifting the gates of empires off 
their hinges, turning the stream of centuries 
out of its channel," making possible that glor- 
ious by-product of modern civilization in which, 
in our God-blessed republic, every worthy citi- 
zen has become an uncrowned king. What an 
inspiration growing out of the procession of 
these uncrowned kings ; the canal driver, the 
tanner, the rail splitter, " cutting their way 



THE REGAL SPIRIT 73 

through poverty's gloomy woodland out into the 
open day " ! 

Walking beneath the shadow of that massive 
granite block known as Marshall Field's, Chi- 
cago, we are reminded of the dream of a poor 
young man entering the city to become a clerk 
in a second- or third-rate establishment, later a 
larger establishment; and by-and-by, as he 
walks or drives along the street, the captains 
of industry are found bowing very low, saying: 
" There goes the prince of merchants of the 
whole world." Now all trains crossing all con- 
tinents are headed Marshall Field-ward; all 
ships sailing all seas are bound Marshall Field- 
ward; The Kingdom Within, the kingdom 
within. 

Some years ago the pastor of a large city 
church had as organist a famous German musi- 
cian ; and when, on occasion the pastor was not 
at his best, as a climax to the service he would 
beckon to the organist to take his place at the 
organ and furnish that climax. It was after 
the death of the universally loved President Mc- 
Kinley, who loved so much the hymn, " Lead, 
Kindly Light " — the hymn being made dearer 
to all our hearts by the singing of it at 
the time of the funeral of the martyred presi- 
dent, when the pastor at the close of his dis- 
course beckoned to the organist, and, obeying, 



74 THE LARGER VISION 

be began improvising on the hymn alluded to. 
Softly the music came at first, stealing into all 
hearts and filling them with richest melody; 
and then the old musician began pulling out all 
the stops, turned on all the manuals of the 
great organ, and a great outburst of music, re- 
sembling the " circling of pyramidal crowns, the 
collision of crashing worlds," issued forth, and 
the large concourse of people sat spellbound. 

When the music died away, even as the 
" dying away of the tempest," the pastor rushed 
across the platform, and encircling the old 
organist in his arms, gave utterance to the 
words leaping from all hearts : " Where did 
you get it? " 

The great musician, every ounce of physical 
energy exhausted, sank down into a chair, and 
sat as in a trance for a moment; then, lifting 
his head, he murmured, " I thought I was in 
heaven." 

And the pastor exclaimed, " You were in 
heaven, and we were all in heaven — but where 
did you get it? " 

And the musician rose to his feet and modestly, 
said, as he looked into the sea of faces before 
him : " I will try to answer the question of 
your pastor : forty years ago I had a dream — 
through the years I have builded my life into 
the fulfillment of this dream — and to-night it 



THE REGAL SPIRIT 75 

was fulfilled." The Kingdom Within — the 

KINGDOM WITHIN. 

Greater still have been the triumphs in the 
spiritual realm as lives, dominated by the regal 
spirit, possessed of the kingdom within, have 
gone forth to give to the world the impact of 
consecrated lives. 

In the days of spiritual apostasy in the 
Church of England, John Wesley, possessing 
the kingdom within, cried out : " The world is 
my parish," and Methodism, that regnant force 
which was destined to give to the world a heaven- 
ward tendency, was born. 

Dominated by this selfsame regal spirit, pos- 
sessed of the kingdom within, John Knox cried 
out : " Give me Scotland or I die," and God 
gave him Scotland. 

Obsessed by the regal spirit of Him concern- 
ing whom it had been prophesied, " He shall not 
fail nor be discouraged till He have set judg- 
ment in the earth, and the isles shall wait for 
His law," good angels of light, clad in the 
robes of our humanity, have been found wend- 
ing their way down into the heart of Africa, 
over into the jungles of India, and far out on the 
isles of the sea ; in arms of love and mercy bear- 
ing the inhabitants back from a night-time of 
ignorance and superstition, to the " wayside 
inn " of heaven and eternal life. 



76 THE LARGER VISION 

II. THE CHARACTER OF THE REGAL SPIRIT 

An analysis of the regal spirit is tantamount 
to an analysis of the character of the King. It 
is because of no taint, in word, thought, or deed 
of the Nazarene that the shadow of the cross 
has stretched across the centuries. Standing 
gazing upon this life of purity, friend and foe 
alike, with uncovered head, has exclaimed : " I 
find no fault in Him." 

What is it that makes the flowers so beauti- 
ful? It is the utter absence of the taint of im- 
purity. 

What is it that warrants the high price paid 
for the choicest hardwoods with which we dec- 
orate our homes ? It is freedom from " wind 
shakes " and taint of decay — impurity. 

Why is it that fingers of steel grip either 
shore of East River, forming the famous Brook- 
lyn Bridge, across which enormous traffic is 
carried on through the years ? It is the absence 
of corroding rust — impurity of metal. 

Why does the statesman, capable of wrestling 
with the weighty problems of state and nation, 
become stripped of the ermine of honor, position, 
and stamped with the seal of popular disap- 
proval? It is because of the taint of avarice, 
greed, graft — impurity of life. 

Why that tardy recognition of the gifts of 



THE REGAL SPIRIT 77 

the brilliant intellect of a Poe? He himself 
has answered unwittingly in the words : 
" Quoth the raven nevermore." It is because 
his intellect was beclouded by the taint of the 
intoxicating bowl. 

The world has with one accord decreed that 
the purest gem of earth is that of a pure woman- 
hood. The basest of all men is he who places a 
low estimate upon the opposite sex, whilst no 
greater meed of praise can be given to any man 
than the simple statement that above everything 
else of an earthly character he loves and re- 
spects his wife and mother. 

" God sought to give the sweetest thing in his 
almighty power 
To earth ; and deeply pondering what it should 
be — 
One hour, in fondest joy and love of heart, 

Outweighing every other, 
He moved the gates of heaven ajar, 
And gave to earth — a mother/' 

But whilst mother-love, as a scepter of 
supremacy, holds sway over the lives of strong 
men through the years, it is only because that 
love is struck through and through, even as the 
costliest gem, with purity. Be pure — for 

{t Not in the clamor of the crowded street, 
Not in the shout and plaudit of the throng, 
But in ourselves are victory and defeat." 



78 THE LARGER VISION 

Unselfishness. Another and dominating char- 
acteristic of the regal spirit is that of unselfish- 
ness. Ponder the lives of the really great char- 
acters of earth, and note how only the influence 
of those in which unselfishness has been the 
determining factor abides. 

Perhaps one of the most spectacular char- 
acters in the military world was Napoleon. 
With a personality which amounted to mag- 
netic power he bound men to him, whilst with 
an iron will all heretofore impregnable Alpine 
summits vanished, like mists of vapor in the 
presence of the noonday's sun. 

Analyze the life of this peerless leader, and 
you will discover that the dream of his life was 
to make France supreme among the nations of 
the earth, and to place the scepter of suprem- 
acy among the nations of the earth in the hands 
of his immediate family. In a word, the ulti- 
mate and ignominious failure of Napoleon, dy- 
ing on St. Helena's rocky shore without a friend 
to let fall a tear of sorrow on his grave, may be 
traced to the self-centered spirit dominating 
his life. 

Place over against this life that of the Naza- 
rene, the keynote of whose life was : " I came 
not to be ministered unto, but to minister ; M 
and you have the secret to the triumph enabling 
him to " stamp his name upon the brow of the 



THE REGAL SPIRIT 79 

hurrying centuries, and to baptize the nations 
of the earth with his birth." 

Some few years since a number of prominent 
railway officials were gathered at Boone, Iowa, 
to pay a tribute of honor to a brave engineer. 

On a certain memorable night this engineer 
took his place on his engine to make a record 
run, his train being the fastest on the great 
Northwestern System. During the run the 
engineer noted the fact that he had lost a few 
minutes, which he expected to make up at a 
certain point where there was a down grade. 
When he reached this point it was noticed that 
he was making eighty miles an hour, when sud- 
denly there was an explosion, and engineer and 
fireman were hurled from their places by blind- 
ing steam and smoke, the engine becoming trans- 
formed into an inferno in which no man could 
remain and live. 

When the engineer resumed consciousness he 
staggered to his feet, wondering how long he 
had lain there, and how near to danger they 
were, for the train was thundering along at a 
frightful pace, with no guiding hand on the 
throttle. 

He made a futile attempt to regain the en- 
gine, but was driven back by scalding steam; 
then bravely he climbed over the coal bunker, 
and feeling his way along, at length arrived at 



80 THE LARGER VISION 

the express car, where he knocked on the door 
for admission, realizing that even now he was 
courting death, the messenger mistaking him 
for a train robber. At length, however, after 
what seemed to him to be an eternity of waiting, 
the door was thrown open, and he was looking 
into the barrels of two revolvers. In a moment 
the messenger recognized who it was, and the 
engineer had just time to stagger forward to 
the center of the car, pull the emergency brake 

— and as the train slowed down, fell in a swoon 
on his face, and the passengers were saved. 

That was why those officials stood that day 
at his bedside, presenting to him the finest gold 
watch that money could buy, inscribed on the 
inside of one of the cases of which were the 
words : " To L. H. Shull for unselfish fidelity 
to duty, Jan. 5th, 1907." 

The unselfish yielding up of ourselves to 
duty — this is the acid test of the regal spirit 

— a reflection of the spirit of the Christ. 



SPIRITUAL POISE 



"If Shakespeare were to come into this room, we 
would all rise up to meet him ; but if Christ were to 
come into it, we should all fall upon our knees." 

— Charles Lamb. 

" Jesus was so firmly poised that under the pres- 
sure of the most venomous vituperation that has 
ever been hurled against a man he stood erect, un- 
moved and unmovable — his poise was divine." 

— Jefferson. 

" Christ being the holiest among the mighty, 
and the mightiest among the holy, lifted with his 
pierced hand empires off their hinges, turned the 
stream of centuries out of its channel, and still 
governs the ages." 

— Jean Paul Richter. 



I find no fault in him at all. 



— Pilate. 



VI 
SPIRITUAL POISE 

Perhaps one of the most skillful acrobatic 
performances of the persent day is that known 
as " tight rope Walking." For the successful 
achievement of this feat the acrobat must main- 
tain a perfect physical poise, bringing every 
muscle of the body under perfect control. 

Of greater significance than appears on the 
surface is this achievement ; herein is embodied 
a principle, whose application in human ex- 
perience makes for the largest success. 

Note the application of this principle in the 
social world. Returning from a social func- 
tion, you have said : " What a charming 
woman is Mrs. So and So; never ill at ease. She 
has the happy faculty of making all about her 
feel comfortable — in a word, her presence is 
a sufficient guarantee of an atmosphere con- 
genial in character." And then perhaps, at 
the very next meeting of a similar character, 
you were disappointed beyond expression, caus- 
ing you to murmur : " I think she is one of the 

most frigid creatures I have ever met." 

83 



84 THE LARGER VISION 

What is the matter? Lack of poise, that is 
all. 

Note also the application of this principle in 
the industrial world. 

You have known men who were possessed of 
an abundance of energy, a perfect enthusiasm 
in their work, men of brain power, correct busi- 
ness methods, and, withal, a goodly amount of 
tact in dealing with their fellows. Some days 
you have found them to be a perfect bundle of 
good cheer — dame fortune has smiled benignly 
upon them, and everything has come their way. 
In response to an interrogation as to how they 
were getting on, with beaming countenances 
they have replied : " Oh, things are going 
swimmingly." And then, perchance the next 
time you meet them, you note an entire change 
of demeanor; stamped with the telltale lines of 
disappointment, reverse of fortune, etc., are 
their faces ; they are up today and down to- 
morrow. 

What is the matter? Lack of poise, that is 
all. 

Who has not noted the effects of an absence 
of poise in the domestic world? Passing into 
the home of an acquaintance, you have become 
impressed by the atmosphere of good cheer: 
happiness and contentment, like twin sisters, 
sit jointly on the throne; the children are well 



SPIRITUAL POISE 85 

demeaned; the servants are all that could be 
desired ; and you have gone away saying : 
" What an ideal home." 

But on the occasion of your next visit you 
have been startled by an atmosphere resembling 
chaos ; the children are cross and peevish ; the 
servants bang the doors and frown, as they pass 
from room to room ; the mistress of the home is 
ill at ease ; and you are sure that the twin sisters 
of discontent and unhappiness have usurped the 
throne. 

What is the matter? Lack of poise, that is 
all. 

This selfsame principle applies in the spirit- 
ual realm. What pastor has not had an ex- 
perience like this? Meeting a parishioner, he 
has been delighted to find him possessed of a 
spirit of exhilaration, a perfect spiritual en- 
thusiasm, indicating that he is on the mountain- 
top ; and then, perhaps, at the next meeting, 
with saddened spirit, he has noted the fact that 
a complete change has come over the man, that 
no longer is he dominated by the spirit of 
optimism, rather has he become transformed 
into " a prophet of despondency and com- 
plaint." 

What is the matter? Lack of poise, that is 
all. 

The absence of poise means the reversal of the 



86 THE LARGER VISION 

arithmetic of life ; an addition of unrest ; a 
subtraction of peace of mind, joy of heart and 
contentment of life ; a multiplication of needless 
worry; and a division of that perfect equi- 
librium which men must possess in order to be at 
their best. 

It was the day that you were not at your best 
that you dropped the unkind word, which robbed 
the dear ones at home of a whole day of 
happiness, and haunted you, through the long 
business hours, like a thief in the night. It 
was the day you were not at your best that you 
failed to make the most of a golden opportun- 
ity, causing you to charge up a considerable 
item to profit and loss. 

To be at your best means to possess the touch 
of power responsible for all that is worth while 
in every sphere in life. Given the touch of 
power, and the poet shall write immortal 
dramas, the musician shall compose a great ora- 
torio, the artist shall fling upon the canvas a 
masterpiece, the statesman shall evolve a solu- 
tion to the vexed problem of state, the com- 
manding general shall triumph at Appomattox 
and Waterloo, and the commonplace experi- 
ence shall grow into the extraordinary. 



SPIRITUAL POISE 87 

I. THE WORLD'S GREATEST DEFORMITY 

If you were to ask the wise man, " What is 
the world's greatest deformity? " he would an- 
swer, " An absence of perfect poise." 

In the physical realm, metaphorically speak- 
ing, it is " the bruised reed and the smoking 
flax ; " literally speaking, it is an absence of 
the use of one or more of our physical faculties. 
It is the rattle of the crutch of the cripple; 
the blind man feeling his way through life, aided 
by a cane; the hunchback who cannot hide his 
deformity. 

In the intellectual world it is " the simple 
minded man," or the poor fellow from whose 
brow reason has fled the throne. 

Some years ago the doorbell of a well-known 
divine rang one morning; answering it himself, 
he looked into the face of an entire stranger, 
whose sorrow smitten face indicated all to 
plainly that he was in need of sympathy. 

The stranger was bidden to enter, and when 
he was seated, said : " I do not know your 
name, but I have been told that you are an 
ambassador of Christ, and I profess to be a 
follower of Him." And then, while tears 
trickled down his cheeks, the man continued, " I 
have just placed my sister in the hospital for 
the insane of your city — and — and " — the 



88 THE LARGER VISION 

sentence remained unfinished, whilst the man 
buried his face in his hands and sobbed as if 
his heart would break, and the clergyman 
silently wept with him, knowing that every time 
the door of that building opened to admit a new 
patient a fresh tragedy was enacted. 

By-and-by the man regained his composure, 
and turning to the man of God said : " I 
thought maybe sometimes you would be kind 
enough to visit her," and receiving assurance 
that he would be glad to do so, the man went 
away comforted. 

Is there any greater deformity known to our 
humanity than that of an absence of poise such 
as I have indicated in the intellectual world? 
There is. 

What is that deformity? It is the absence 
of poise in the spiritual realm. 

Perhaps the most forcible illustration to be 
found anywhere touching the absence of spirit- 
ual poise, or spiritual deformity, is that con- 
tained in the two-fold word picture painted by 
the apostle Paul, in which he holds up the carnal 
nature, devoid of all the graces of the spirit, 
and then throws over against this the picture of 
the renewed spirit, in whose life are found the 
fruits of the spirit. 

It is as if Paul had gathered together the 
blackness of a thousand night-times to be used 



SPIRITUAL POISE 89 

as a background, whilst with colorings indic- 
ative of tear-stained faces, prematurely whited 
locks, deeply ploughed furrows of care, and 
bleeding, broken hearts, he has painted this 
picture : " adultery, fornication, uncleanness, 
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, em- 
ulation, wrath, strife, seditions, envyings, mur- 
derers, drunkenness and revelings." 

And gazing upon this picture, the soul starts 
back in terror, crying out : " Paul, why did 
you paint this picture?" 

And Paul answers, " That I might represent 
in toto spiritual deformity — an absence of 
spiritual poise." 

And the soul cries out : " Paul, give us the 
other side of the picture. Hurry up, Paul; if 
you do not do so, I will go mad with an agony 
of spirit." 

And the great apostle hastens to throw upon 
the canvas of inspiration the other side of the 
picture. For a background, he utilizes the light 
and glory of a thousand sunrises, whilst in this 
setting he paints, in colorings of entangled rain- 
bows and pinioned sunsets, this picture : " love, 
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, 
goodness, faith and temperance." 

And the soul, overwhelmed at the sight, ex- 
claims, " Paul, why did you paint this pic- 
ture? " 



90 THE LARGER VISION 

And Paul answers, " That I might typify the 
utter absence of spiritual deformity — perfect 
spiritual poise." 

There are moments in life when time ceases 
to be a factor — when the soul, standing on 
some inspiration point, enthralled, as he feasts 
his eyes on a glorious panorama or mighty can- 
yon, becomes intoxicated on the wine of nature's 
beauty ; it is even so as we gaze upon this two- 
fold picture painted by the apostle, the glory 
of the latter being enhanced as we turn away 
from the former, reminding us of the experience 
of the unregenerate soul who has passed from 
nature's darkness out into the marvelous light 
and liberty of the new birth. 

And yet we should not lose sight of the fact 
that the sheen of the sun can never equal the 
sun itself — let us look at the sun. 

II. THE POISE OF CHRIST 

By the poise of Christ I mean the embodiment 
of all those graces of the spirit, all those moral 
excellencies, which make for perfect manhood, 
since Christ was the one perfect Man who ever 
trod this earth. 

The world has been enriched and blessed by 
men possessed of high ideals, men, who perforce 
of weakness of the flesh have never attained unto 



SPIRITUAL POISE 91 

their ideal. Jesus was in Himself, is in Him- 
self, the world's ideal, by reason of the fact that 
He is the embodiment of all those things which 
make for perfection. Gazing upon His life, 
pondering the utterances falling from His lips, 
the mighty works performed by Him, friends 
and foes alike unite in declaring : " I find no 
fault in him." 

Men have sought to develop, have developed 
in a large degree, the spirit of nobility, as a 
result of which their fellows, standing at the 
open grave, have paid them this high compli- 
ment : " These men made the world better by 
living in it." Jesus was in Himself the source 
and fountain head of nobility; no finger has 
ever been laid upon an ignoble thought, word or 
deed connected with His life. 

Beautiful in character is the spirit of philan- 
thropy dominating the lives of men, responsible 
for the various eleemosynary institutions, the 
haven of the impotent and poor of the earth ; 
but every asylum for the poor and needy points 
backward to the fountain-head of all philan- 
thropy, to Him who said : " The poor ye have 
always with you." Like a venerable gulf 
stream, sympathy, the outgoing of human 
hearts to those in need, is found flowing adown 
the vales of human experience, giving rise to 



92 THE LARGER VISION 

the old adage: "One touch of nature makes 
the whole world kin." And yet we know that 
there is such a thing as misplaced sympathy. 

Jesus was in Himself the source of this gulf 
stream of sympathy ; as the sympathizer and 
friend of our humanity, His heart is ever found 
beating in sympathetic throb with every real 
heartache and heartbreak. Possessed of per- 
fect wisdom and an unerring spirit of discrimi- 
nation, no deception may be successfully prac- 
ticed upon Him. 

For forty centuries the Jews had been the 
conservators of the faith ; but owing to nar- 
rowness of vision and a self-centered tempera- 
ment, their faith never extended beyond the 
horizon of their own nation. 

Jesus came to exemplify a faith that " thinks 
in continents," embracing all mankind. One 
of the hardest tasks assumed by Him in the 
development of His disciples was that of break- 
ing down the prejudice and bias of four thou- 
sand years' standing, broadening their spiritual 
horizon ; hence the vision given to Peter on the 
housetop of Simon the tanner, in which the four 
corners of the sheet let down from heaven were 
made to typify the four corners of the earth. 
Hence also the vision given to Paul, in which 
the hand stretched out across the sea was made 
to symbolize the outstretched hand of the 



SPIRITUAL POISE 93 

heathen world, crying : " Come over and help 



us." 



Growing out of this self-centered spirit in the 
secular world was found the hated spirit of 
caste. Jesus came to exemplify the spirit of a 
true democracy, to propagate the twofold doc- 
trine of " the Fatherhood of God and the 
brotherhood of man." Unlike other teachers 
who preceded Him and who have succeeded Him, 
the doctrines which Jesus enunciated were never 
circumscribed by local conditions; His constit- 
uency embraced all nations and peoples. 

Seeking to compass His overthrow by en- 
tangling Him in His words, the Pharisees, nar- 
row and bigoted in temperament, came asking 
this question : " Is it lawful to give tribute to 
Caesar, or not? " 

Note the cunning of the wording of this 
question. If He answered, " Yes," then the 
Jews, vassals of Rome and smarting under the 
humiliation of imposed tribute, would have 
turned against Him ; if He answered, " No," 
then all the hounds of Rome had " been hot 
upon His trail." 

See then the perfect poise of this World 
Teacher as He called for a penny and, holding 
it in His hand, inquired : " Whose is this image 
and superscription?" They answered, "Caes- 
ar's." Jesus answered: "Render unto Caesar 



94 THE LARGER VISION 

the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the 
things that are God's." And the Pharisees 
were forever silenced. 

Then came the scribes, propounding this 
question : " Master, which is the first and great 
commandment?" Jesus answered: "Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
with all thy soul, with all thy mind and with 
all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself." 
Quick as a flash came the retort : " Who is my 
neighbor? " And on the impulse of the mo- 
ment this perfectly poised Teacher formulated 
the parable of the " Good Samaritan," in which 
He administered a stinging rebuke to the nation 
which for forty centuries had been passing by 
the heathen world, as they were made to look 
upon the " Good Samaritan " unmindful of the 
fact that the man in need was his hated rival, 
and mindful only of the fact that a man in 
need appealed to him for help. And the scribes 
were effectually silenced. 

Perhaps the sublimest utterance falling from 
the lips of this perfectly poised Teacher is this : 
" I came not to be ministered unto, but to min- 
ister." 

After fasting in the wilderness for a period 
of forty days, the tempter, Satan, approached 
Him, saying : " If thou be the Son of God, 
command that these stones be made bread." 



SPIRITUAL POISE 95 

Jesus answered : " It is written, man shall not 
live by bread alone, but by every word which 
proceedeth out of the mouth of God " ; empha- 
sizing the fact that heavenly manna has ever 
been provided for those who are faithful to the 
trust committed to them, and that enduement of 
power never spells license to use this power for 
selfish purposes. 

How the pulse beat is silenced and the heart 
made to stand still as we see the Christ, 
suspended on the cross, paying the ultimate 
penalty of human sin ; as we behold chief priests, 
scribes and Pharisees, joined by friends of hell, 
falling before Him in mock derision, saying: 
" He saved others, Himself He canot save " ; 
causing another to exclaim: "Eternal justice, 
where were thy thunderbolts ; angels of God, 
where were ye encamped, or how restrained? " 

And Jesus, lifting His sorrow-smitten face, 
looked up and replied : " Father, forgive them, 
for they know not what they do." 

In Boardman's " Problem of Jesus " may be 
found this comprehensive summary of the excel- 
lencies embodied in the poise of Jesus : 

" He was faultless, without dullness ; patriotic, 
without partisanship ; courteous, without hollow- 
ness; dignified, without stiffness; calm, without 
stolidity; frank, without effusiveness; chivalrous, 
without rashness; aggressive, without pugnacity; 



96 THE LARGER VISION 

conciliatory, without sycophancy; prudent, with- 
out timeserving; modest, without self-deprecia- 
tion; gracious, without condescension; just, with.- 
out severity; lenient, without laxity; patient, with- 
out stoicism; self-conscious, without self-conceit; 
heroic, without coarseness; sympathetic, without 
connivance; stern, without censoriousness ; indig- 
nant, without bitterness; forgiving, without feeble- 
ness; trustful, without improvidence; diversified, 
without contrariety — in a word perfect, without 
unnaturalness." 

With such a Saviour, the world may well 
join in this coronation hymn: 

" All hail the power of Jesus' name, 

Let angels prostrate fall; 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 

And crown Him Lord of all." 



THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 



" A man was born, not for prosperity ; but to 
suffer for the benefit of others, like the rock 
maple, which all around our village bleeds for the 
service of man." 

— Emerson. 

" The florist sacrifices ninety-nine buds, in order 
to obtain one American Beauty; in like manner 
countless lives must be builded into a full-fledged, 
redeemed manhood/' 

— L. 

" Everything cries out to us that we must re- 
nounce. Thou must go without. That is the ever- 
lasting song which every hour, all our life through, 
hoarsely sings to us: die and come to life; for so 
long as this is not accomplished thou art but a 
troubled guest upon an earth of gloom/' 

— Goethe. 

"Who for the joy that was set before Him en- 
dured the cross, despising the shame, and is set 
down at the right hand of the throne of God." 

— Hebrews, 12:2. 



VII 
THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 

Stamped upon the face of all creation is the 
law of vicarious contribution, making it obli- 
gatory upon every phase of creative genius, 
and, reverently speaking, upon the Creator 
Himself, bound by the law which He has be- 
come responsible for, to give, give largely, give 
with prodigal hand, even to the limit of life it- 
self, in order to existence. 

One of the good old hymns of the church 
which the " saints " were wont to sing with 
swing of conquest is more than suggestive of 
the vital importance of an observance of this 
law: 

" There is a fountain filled with blood, 
Drawn from Immanuel's veins; 

And sinners plunged beneath that flood, 
Lose all their guilty stains. " 

What precious memories are awakened of the 

days of auld lang syne when, with sinners bowed 

at the altars of prayer, consecrated souls, with 

old-time fervor surging up through heart and 

99 



100 THE LARGER VISION 

brain, sang this hymn, until the heavens bowed 
down and souls were born of God ! 

Is it true that in these later days we are 
growing away from the " old paths " of power, 
and are found leaning more to the " letter " 
than to the " spirit " of the law ? 

Is it true that the sneer of a well-known 
divine, declaring that the " blood theory " is 
" grewsome, in bad taste to refined souls," is 
having effect upon pulpit and pew of to-day? 

Whether this be so or not, we need not go 
far afield to learn that the law of vicarious con- 
tribution, the so-called " blood theory," is of 
universal application, carrying with it the pen- 
alty of failure to exist where refusal of compli- 
ance is registered. 

I. THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION IN THE 
PHYSICAL REALM 

With prodigality of contribution the flowers 
give out their beauty and fragrance, give until 
there is no more to give. And suppose they 
were to withhold their offerings ; with tightly 
closed petals should exclaim : " We will keep 
for our own use our beauty and fragrance ; " 
then would they become blighted, wither, die, 
since the law of living is giving. 

With similar prodigality the sun gives out 
light and heat; across vast abysses of space the 



THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 101 

center of the solar universe, the sun, pours out 
contributions of light and heat, supplying not 
alone our world, but other worlds as well. 

But suppose the sun were to refuse to give, 
were to close up his bowels of compassion, say- 
ing, " I will retain for my own use my light and 
heat," what then? "Then," you say, "our 
world would become barren, dormant; every 
living, creeping, walking, flying, swimming ani- 
mal of earth and sea and sky, including all 
forms of vegetable creation, would be consigned 
to a common charnel house of death." 

Well, that is true, but it is not all the truth ; 
for if the sun were to refuse to give out light 
and heat, were to hug to his bosom all his light 
and heat, the sun would explode, burn up, per- 
force, of his refusal to give. Seated by the 
open grate on cold winter evenings', we are 
wont to dream after the fashion of Mr. Haw- 
thorne, finding ourselves carried back in thought 
to the time when primeval forests covered all the 
land, whose foliage through the long summer 
days drank in rays of sunlight, and in the 
autumnal period took on the colorings of crim- 
son and gold, symbolical of the red blood of 
sacrifice, whilst, kissed by the autumn breeze, 
these leaves are seen falling in banks of golden 
foliage to the earth — the process continuing 
for who can tell how many ages? 



102 THE LARGER VISION 

By-and-by, when the acids and gases have 
done their work, down beneath the earth's sur- 
face are found great beds of coal, which the 
miner brings forth, and, flinging the coal into 
the open grate, we are minded of the fact that 
the heat and light proceeding from the same 
are but the liberated rays of sunlight. 

But who among us is possessed of sufficient 
temerity to accuse Hawthorne of promulgating 
" a grewsome theory " ? 

Some years ago, when a denizen of the far 
west, I often found myself traversing the 
" Paloose and Big Bend " country, Washington, 
where one becomes minded of the words of Gei- 
kie : " The vales are the beneficiaries of the 
mountains." And though the fields of waving, 
golden grain ready for the garner in this section 
of country, perhaps one of the most fertile in 
our whole domain, present a picture inspiring 
in character, more inspiring still is the con- 
templation of Geikie, who, in speaking of an- 
other fertile section of the world, tells us that 
" the vast composts of the mountains are 
swelled by the summer's heat, split open by the 
winter's frosts, pulverized and swept down into 
the vales by the springtime rains and melting 
snows to enrich the ivales," the mountains liter- 
ally becoming impovished for the enrichment of 
the vales. 



THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 103 

But who has heard of anybody charg- 
ing Geikie with promulgating " a grewsome 
theory 55 ? 

It was after several weeks 5 drought in east- 
ern Tennessee, during which the leaves of trees 
had become brown and sear, the stalks of corn 
" sun fried," that a million voices of nature 
were heard pleading piteously for rain. Then 
the great orb of light, the sun, whispered to the 
ocean, the great deep smiled assent, and with 
huge golden dippers the sun lifted the waters 
of the sea into the waiting carriers, the clouds ; 
and the clouds, scurrying over mountains, hills 
and vales, deposited their precious burden upon 
the parched earth. 

And now — didn't you hear the music of 
these selfsame million of voices of nature, trans- 
formed into so many voices of praise, sending 
up a Te Deum of thanksgiving to the Giver of 
every good and perfect gift? 

Maybe you did not hear the music ; there are 
so many of us who, " having eyes, see not, and 
ears, hear not; 55 so many who fail to get the 
significance of the words of the poet : 

" There seems a voice in every gale, 

A tongue in every flower, 
Which tells, O Lord, the wondrous tale 

Of Thine almighty power." 

But suppose the ocean were to refuse the re- 



104 THE LARGER VISION 

quest of the sun to give of her waters to re- 
freshen the parched earth, should say, " I have 
need of all my waters ; it is mine to furnish a 
highway of the deep, a world highway, across 
which may tramp great steamers carrying on 
the world's traffic ; it is mine to furnish great 
harbors with water, where steamers may lie at 
anchor and numberless row-boats and tugboats 
may sag in my waters ; I cannot spare water 
for the parched earth beyond my own confines," 
— what then ? 

Then would the clouds evaporate, their mis- 
sion at an end; the rivulets and brooks would 
no longer laugh on their way ; the rivers would 
be dried up ; the great harbors would become 
empty — " no water to wander along the un- 
dulating shore lines, filling all the place with 
the green, brackish wonder of the deep ; " aye, 
then, the source of supply cut off, the ocean 
itself would become a vast pool of pestil- 
ence-breeding odors, since giving is the law of 
being. 

Bending over the full-blown and blushing 
rose, looking through Tyndall's eyes, we may 
see the dewdrop in the early morn reposing in 
the heart of the rose, in which " is sheathed 
enough electric power to charge 100,000 Leyden 
jars, enough to blow up the House of Parlia- 
ment." But nobody, to my knowledge, has 



THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 105 

summoned up sufficient courage to charge Tyn- 
dall with promulgating " a grewsome theory." 
Looking through Faraday's eyes, we are re- 
minded that in order to obtain " the coloring 
and delicious flavor of a single strawberry, 
enough energy of the sun is consumed to drive 
an engine from London to Liverpool, or from 
Chicago to Detroit." And yet I feel quite sure 
Faraday never lost any sleep over the cruel 
charge that he was guilty of promulgating a 
theory repulsive to the refined taste of his fel- 
lows. 

II. THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION IN THE 
INTELLECTUAL WORLD 

Standing gazing upon a library of well 
selected books, historical, literary, biographical, 
philosophical, scientific, etc., in character, have 
you asked the question, " How much did this 
library cost? " 

If you had reference to the cost of the mater- 
ials, the printing, binding, etc., your question 
is an insignificant one, for that is a mere bag- 
atelle, an inconsiderable item of expense. But 
if you refer to what it cost the authors of these 
books, pouring out brain sweat — that is an- 
other matter. 

How much did it cost the author of Milton's 
" Paradise Lost," incarcerated behind walls of 



106 THE LARGER VISION 

total blindness, to produce the immortal work 
which bears his name? 

How much did it cost Tennyson to write " In 
Memoriam " ? For answer you must sit with 
him, through long vigils of loneliness and heart- 
break, listening to the drip, drip, drip of human 
blood, as he contemplates the " loved one " 
from whose brow reason had fled the throne. 

How much did it cost Emerson to write the 
words : " The times are the masquerades of the 
eternities, the receptacle in which the past leaves 
its history, the quarries out of which the present 
is building up the future " ? 

Did you think this was a mere poetical effu- 
sion flung out in moments of " mental playful- 
ness"? Not so. If you would know the real 
cost of any one of the real gems of poetic truth, 
you must watch the author burning the midnight 
oil, casting and recasting the choice phrase a 
thousand times, until the gold of intellectual 
worth is produced to enrich human lives. 

See, then, this " intellectual millionaire," who 
has climbed hand over hand up the ladder of in- 
tellectual fame, until, having reached the top- 
most rundle, he becomes capable of formulating 
symbolisms of truth whose unfolding shall be- 
come the delight of those possessed of the larger 
vision. Aye, see Emerson, possessed of the 
larger vision himself, as he ponders " the times 



THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 107 

— the masquerades of the eternities " — liter- 
ally the world stage on which every man, woman 
and child of earth performs his part; see him 
as, with enlarging vision, he catches sight of 
the toilers of the past come trooping up, like 
so many school children, with arms laden with 
flowers, flinging their treasure-troves at our 
feet, forming a receptacle for a world product; 
aye, see him as, with mighty sweep of vision, he 
looks out into the future and beholds the sub- 
limer structure, fame, honor, character, man- 
hood, womanhood, the sublime achievements of 
those who have utilized the materials at hand — 
" the quarry out of which the present is build- 
ing up the future." 

How much did it cost Lincoln to scribble on 
the back of an envelope, riding along on the 
train — having hurried away from the exacting 
duties of the chief magistrate of our nation in 
the most trying hours through which our nation 
has ever passed — how much did it cost him to 
formulate the outline of that greatest patriotic 
oration which has ever been delivered, the or- 
ation delivered at Gettysburg? 

If you would know all the cost you must stand 
where the old soldiers of our united republic 
recently stood, the blue and the gray, in the 
reunion at Gettysburg the past year, and recall 
the awful struggle, " the hell of shot and shell," 



108 THE LARGER VISION 

through which they passed, in order that our 
Republic might remain intact. 

The renowned, lamented southern orator and 
author, Henry W. Grady, was wont to say: 
" If I wanted my boy to learn the meaning of 
this republic, I would lead him to the foot of 
Bunker Hill monument, and there, seated be- 
neath the shadow of that mighty shaft, I would 
recite to him the story of the men who came up 
to the altar of a nation's sacrifice, laying thereon 
their all in order to save the republic itself." 

How much did it cost to write the book of 
books? Who will undertake the herculean task 
of estimating the cost of patriarchal faith and 
prophetic vision, the cost of heroes and martyrs, 
poets and statesmen — characters " lofty and 
lowly, noble and ignoble " making up the mater- 
ials woven into the Old Testament Scriptures — 
not to speak of God's greatest gift to men, re- 
sponsible for the impoverishment of heaven for 
the enrichment of earth, even the gift of His 
only begotten Son of New Testament narrative? 

Only when some archangel of the world of 
light shall rise up in yonder world of light to 
tell of the cost of tears grown into* mighty 
rivers ; of groans grown into sound resembling 
that of thunders crashing along the mountains 
of the skies ; of the tension of heartbreak which 



THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 109 

on Calvary's summit caused this world to shud- 
der — rocks being jostled out of their places," 
the great orb of light, the sun, wheeling his 
chariot of illumination backward from the 
scene, refusing to look upon the sun of right- 
eousness from whom he had borrowed his rays 
of light, sinking beneath a horizon of mingled 
darkness, death and blood whilst the bending 
sympathies of heaven let fall a tear — shall we 
be able to grip this stupendous thought, the 
cost of writing of God's revelation to men. 

III. THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION IN THE 
SPIRITUAL REALM 

We have already indicated that the Author 
of the law of vicarious contribution must Him- 
self be subject to the application of that law in 
fulfillment of the relation which He sustains to 
the children of men. Amazed and dazed, we 
stand gazing upon the actual application in His 
sacrificial offering. 

Again and again have we reverte'd in thought 
to the sacrifice of Abraham who, by common con- 
sent, has outdistanced all his fellows in offering 
up Isaac, his only son, at Mt. Moriah. Stag- 
gering under the very burden of contemplation, 
we have followed him on that lonely journey 
of three days and nights — days and nights so 
long to him that it would seem as if he must 



110 THE LARGER VISION 

have gripped in all its significance the meaning 
of the words : " A thousand years are but as 
one day, and one day as a thousand years." 
And when at last the place appointed has been 
reached, and the little lad inquired of him: 
" Father, the altar is here, the wood for the 
offering is at hand, but where is the offering? " 
it must have been like a blade of anguish plunged 
into his vitals and turned round. 

When the lad was tied to the altar, and his 
hand held the gleaming blade raised to slay his 
son — and his hand was paralyzed a moment, 
long enough for God to indicate the real offer- 
ing yonder, caught in the thicket — I have 
thought I could see the air growing heavy and 
Abraham, staggering under the awful strain, 
falling in a swoon to the earth. 

Why did God require such a sacrifice at the 
hands of mortal man? Maybe you answer, " In 
order that he might become ' the father of the 
faithful,' whose seed should become ' numerous 
as the sands of the seashore. 5 " 

Well, that may be true, but I have thought 
that even more important than this was the 
symbol growing out of the sacrifice of Abraham 
— the symbol of the sacrifice of the All-Father 
in the offering of an only begotten Son to die 
for sinful man. 

Give to imagination a free rein ; traverse the 



THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 111 

unknown ages lying between " the beginning " 
when, at the utterance of the almighty fiat, 
worlds trembled into being, and the time when 
the angelic choir, supplemented by morning 
stars dancing together, chanted the annunci- 
ation song : " Glory to God in the highest, 
and on earth peace and good will among men; 
for unto you this day is born in the city of 
David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." 
And as you ponder this vigil of the ages and 
the heartbreak of God, you will be able to sing 
as never before : 

" In the cross of Christ I glory, 
Towering o'er the wrecks of time; 

All the light of sacred story 

Gathers round His head sublime. ,, 

And shall the church fail to learn the signifi- 
cance of this sacrificial offering, the value of 
the vicarious contribution? 

An engineer, held in high esteem by his em- 
ployers, was called upon one dark night to make 
a record run. A strange presentiment took pos- 
session of him, causing him with assumed play- 
fulness to enter the sleeping-chamber of his wife 
and little one four times to hug and kiss them 
good-night. 

With train running sixty miles an hour, in 
making a curve in the road he saw another train 



112 THE LARGER VISION 

approaching him — a sleepy signal man had 
erred. He might have jumped and saved his 
life, but did not do so ; whistling down brakes 
and reversing the engine, in a moment the awful 
crash came which snuffed out his life — but he 
had saved the lives of a hundred passengers 
asleep in Pullman cars behind him. 

And you ask, " Was it necessary to make 
such a sacrifice? " 

And we answer, "If he could not do so, he 
was unworthy ever to have pulled a throttle." 

Why should we not expect to find a similar 
fidelity in the church of God? 

A faithful minister of the gospel, who had 
builded his best talent into the church he was 
serving without stint, but without avail, for an 
indifferent church made impotent all his efforts, 
stood bravely at his post, even when he knew 
that his physical and mental forces w r ere wan- 
ing. By-and-by that heartless church asked 
for his resignation, that another might take his 
place. It was the " last straw," and he stag- 
gered back into the sacred circle of loved ones 
and died. 

And you ask : " Was it necessary for him to 
make such a sacrifice in the face of such in- 
difference? " 

And I reply : " If he could not do so, he was 
not worthy to stand as an ambassador of Him 



THE VICARIOUS CONTRIBUTION 113 

' who for the joy that was set before Him 
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is 
set down at the right hand of the throne of 
God.' " 

The vicarious contribution at the hands of 
the man of God and the church at large — this 
is the supreme requirement requisite to hastening 
the chariot wheels of salvation and the ushering 
in of the millennium. 



THE SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST 



" Men with empires in their brains. " 

— Lowell. 

" No bird can race in the great blue sky against 
a noble soul." 

— Swing. 

" All men love Napoleon because he is them- 
selves in possibility." 

— Emerson. 

" For I determined not to know anything among 
you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." 

— St. Paul. 

"Who for the joy that was set before Him en- 
dured the cross,, despising the shame and is set 
down at the right hand of the throne of God." 

— Hebrews^ 12:2. 



VIII 
THE SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST 

We are all familiar with the old adage: 
" Hitch your wagon to a star." In terms of 
derision a literalist has declared : " The most 
insane act of which any man could be guilty 
would be the attempt to follow the advice of 
this adage ; " for said he, " Any intelligent man 
knows that the orbs on high revolve with such 
rapidity as to dazzle the calculating mind, mak- 
ing it impossible to get within a million miles of 
hitching distance to a star, whilst, if by any 
possibility of chance the man should succeed in 
hitching his wagon to a star, both he and the 
wagon would be whisked into oblivion in the 
smallest possible fraction of a second." 

Now it goes without saying that such a man 

is unworthy of being reasoned with — that it 

would be a clear case of " casting pearls before 

swine." What is meant by the adage is that, in 

order to obtain the largest success in life, man 

must have a high ideal towards which he must 

constantly press. 

The man in the legal world who would make a 

117 



118 THE LARGER VISION 

record in his chosen profession must not be con- 
tent to be an ordinary barrister, to get on some- 
how, satisfied if he can keep the wolf from the 
door ; he must resolve to stand at the head of his 
profession, to earn $50,000 a year; no matter 
at what cost, to climb to the topmost rundle in 
the legal ladder. 

The man who would accomplish the largest 
success in the industrial world must resolve to 
become a captain of industry, to associate him- 
self with leading spirits in the industrial world, 
whose combined efforts shall make for " a 
greater New York," a greater city — the city in 
which he has elected to take up his abode. 

The world has no patience with the man 
possessed of low ideals who is content to eke out 
a living; but the world's heart is thrilled at the 
sight of a man in whose blood is the iron of de- 
termination, and whose heart beats like a trip 
hammer as he engages in the upward climb. 
Dominated by such impulses, we are not sur- 
prised at the fact that men have succeeded in 
wresting down the secrets of the stars, in trans- 
forming the deep into a world highway across 
which may tramp ships of commerce, in encircl- 
ing the globe, with a thread-like track of wire 
around which to flash tiny, invincible cars of 
harnessed lightnings, binding and blending the 
world into a huge whispering gallery in which 



SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST 119 

the inhabitants of other nations become our 
next-door neighbors. 

Nor have these triumphant achievements been 
confined to the temporal world; actuated by a 
similar impulse, in the spiritual realm, bold, 
restless spirits have marched towards the goal 
of success. Thus we see Moses marching up 
a flaming Sinai, into the immediate presence 
of the great " I am that I am," receiving the 
tablets of law at His hands — the law which has 
formed the bases for all law down the centuries. 
We behold Abraham, going forth he knows not 
whither at the command of God, who later be- 
comes known as " the father of the faithful, 
whose seed is as numerous as the sands of the 
seashore." We look jupon a Paul, once a big- 
oted, self-centered pupil, seated at the feet of 
Gamaliel, going forth to persecute the disci- 
ples of Christ, but returning to write the world's 
theology, establish the Christian church in the 
world's strategic centers, and inaugurate a 
worldwide missionary movement, becoming easily 
the foremost apostle of Jesus Christ. 

Inquiring as to the source of the inspiration 
of such men as the great apostle, we hear him 
exclaiming : " For I determined not to know 
anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him 
crucified." To Paul, Jesus Christ stood for the 
highest and the best in the spiritual realm ; 



120 THE LARGER VISION 

He was the greatest among the great, the no- 
blest among those whose lives were dominated 
by ennobling principles ; He was not merely 
the gulf stream of sympathy, flowing humanity- 
ward, He was the fountain-head whence all 
streams of sympathy emanate ; He was not 
merely an exemplification of " a love past find- 
ing out," He was love itself; He was not only 
a holy, mighty man, He was the " holiest among 
the mighty, and the mightiest among the holy." 
Paul could not be satisfied with hitching his 
spiritual wagon to a star; he must needs hitch 
his wagon to the Creator of all the stars. 

What an ideal for all the children of men to 
become obsessed by. Approaching a little 
closer to Paul's ideal, let us in brief analysis 
ponder this theme of themes, " The Supremacy 
of Jesus Christ." 

I. JESUS A WORLD INSTRUCTOR 

And first let us study Jesus in the role of a 
World Instructor. As such we will do well to 
notice how He stressed the most vital phases of 
human life, always " putting first things first." 

He has been called The " Great Physician," 
not because He gave himself up primarily to 
the task of healing the bodies of men. This He 
did, but always incidentally, and in response to 
the demand of the Oriental mind seeking spec- 



SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST 121 

tacular evidence of His divine character. In 
order to meet this demand, we find strewn all 
along His pathway spectacular performances. 
On the occasion of His advent into the world 
" the morning stars danced together," whilst 
an angelic choir chanted the annunciation song: 
" Glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
peace and good will among men; for unto you 
this day is born in the city of David a Savior 
which is Christ the Lord." 

When formally inducted into office in His 
baptism, a voice out of a cloud was heard say- 
ing " This is my beloved Son, hear Him." 

Five thousand people were fed upon five 
loaves and two fishes, literally five barley 
crackers and the two dried herring which a 
little lad had brought as a noonday's snack 
and had forgotten to eat, under the spell 
which the World Instructor cast upon all the 
people. 

Reclining in a little ship on the bosom of 
storm-tossed Gennesaret, in response to the ap- 
peal of His disciples, saying, " Lord, carest 
thou not that we perish?" He simply spake 
to the howling winds and roaring waves, saying, 
" Peace, be still," and the winds and waves were 
rocked to sleep. 

When the outstretched hand of the woman in 
the throng which jostled Him touched the hem 



122 THE LARGER VISION 

of His garment, and she was healed of the issue 
of blood of a number of years' standing — one 
who had been pronounced an " incurable " by 
attending physicians — in feigned expression 
of surprise He turned about, exclaiming: 
" Who touched me? " 

When Roman soldiers came to arrest Him 
in the Garden of Gethsemane, He simply looked 
them in the face and they fell backward in awe 
of His power. 

The most spectacular scene in all His min- 
istry was witnessed on Golgotha when, as He 
gave up the ghost, rocks were jostled out of 
their places, the veil of the temple was rent in 
twain, whilst the " great orb of light, the sun, 
wheeled its chariot of illumination backward 
from the scene, refusing to look upon the sun 
of righteousness from whom he had borrowed 
his rays of light, sinking beneath a commingled 
horizon of darkness, death and blood.' 5 

Spectacular in character were all the mighty 
miracles performed by Him, furnishing indis- 
putable evidence of the divine character of their 
Author, and — I repeat — all of these were 
incidental; the healing of the sick, the curing 
of the blind, the unstopping of the ears of the 
deaf, and the raising of the dead were never 
intended as proofs of His ability to heal the 
bodies of men and women — the real mission of 



SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST 123 

Jesus Christ in the earth was to heal the souls 
of men. 

Leaving a hospital one day after visiting an 
inmate, I turned to the attending physician 
standing in the hall, and in reply to my ques- 
tion he shook his head sadly, saying: "A 
hopeless case ; the medical world has never 
found a remedy for diseases like hers." 

Had Jesus seen fit thus to do, He might have 
drawn aside the curtains of mystery, revealing 
a cure for all the ills of life, but He did not 
do so. Why? He did not do so because here 
is found the field of operation of the medical 
fraternity, which has made rapid strides in the 
conquest of disease and by-and-by will be 
masters of the situation ; Jesus came to work in 
a higher sphere — the sphere in which He alone 
was supreme, hence His title, " The Great 
Physician." 

Had Jesus seen fit thus to do, He might have 
thrown back the bolts, unlocking all doors — 
" doors of oak, doors of iron, doors of brass " 
— revealing all the secrets belonging to the 
scientific world, discovering to men, not in the 
twentieth century but in the first century, the 
X-ray, bloodless surgery, wireless telegraphy, 
the aeroplane, radium, etc., whose introduction 
has caused the characterization of the age in 
which we live as " the age of ages ; " more than 



1M THE LARGER VISION 

that, He might have given an additional flood 
of revelation such as, in future ages, should 
convince the world that the inhabitants of the 
twentieth century had but reached the border- 
land of ultimate triumph in the scientific world, 
but He did not do so. Why? He did not do 
so because herein lies the legitimate sphere of 
men whose task is the accomplishment of these 
triumphs ; His work lay in a higher realm — 
the spiritual realm — and He adhered strictly 
to His task. 

Superior to wireless telegraphy, through the 
use of which the White Star Liner, disabled on 
the high seas, whispered out through the black- 
ness of the night and across the tempest-tossed 
waves the story of her mishap, and other 
vessels several hundreds of miles distant whis- 
pered back that, as fast as steam power could 
bear them, they were on their way to succor 
her, was that revelation of a medium of com- 
munication, through which a lost world may 
whisper up in the ear of God the story of their 
helpless estate, and the great God may whisper 
back messages of help and hope and heaven. 

Outrivaling radium, a single speck of which 
is more powerful than a ten thousand horse- 
power derrick, was the revelation of spiritual 
power destined to " bind the whole round earth 
in chains of gold about the feet of God." 



SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST 125 

Of greater penetration than the X-ray, 
which locates any foreign substance lodged in 
the human body, was the revelation of that all- 
seeing eye which looks down into the human 
heart, discerning the secret motives of all men 
everywhere. 

As a World Instructor Christ came to deal 
with the great eternal truths — God, the soul, 
a boundless heaven and a fathomless hell — 
truths with which He alone was competent to 
deal. 

II. THE SUPREMACY OF THE GOSPEL OF 
CHRIST 

Not only was Christ supreme as a World 
Instructor. He came to invest His church 
with a gospel which should be supreme, meet- 
ing every exigency of life and experience, sav- 
ing to the uttermost all who come to Him by 
faith. 

Somewhere I have found this beautiful and 
forcible illustration, touching the supremacy 
of the gospel of Christ: 

' When Mahomet sees a soul lying at the foot 
of the hill of difficulty, he exclaims, ' It is the will 
of Allah/ 

' When Buddha sees a soul lying at the foot of 
the hill of difficulty, gazing wistfully towards the 
temple Beautiful surmounting the top of the hill, 



126 THE LARGER VISION 

he says, ' When you have passed through a thou- 
sand incarnations you may begin to climb the hill 
of difficulty towards the temple Beautiful.' 

" When Confucius sees a soul lying at the foot 
of the hill of difficulty he says, ' If I had seen you 
ere you fell, I could have told you how to keep 
from falling down the hill/ 

" But when Christ sees a soul at the foot of the 
hill of difficulty, He hastens down the hill, throws 
the arms of infinite love about that one, bears 
him to the top of the hill of difficulty, and together 
they enter the temple Beautiful, the man ' leaping 
and walking and praising God.' " 

Dr. Dawson, in " The Evangelistic Note," 
tells of a twofold vision of the human soul. He 
says : " There is what is known as the micro- 
scopic vision of human life, and there is what 
is known as the telescopic vision." 

Looking through the microscope the pessi- 
mistic soul sees frailty, mistakes, follies, etc., 
and cries out, " That is man." And so it is, 
for who is not conscious of frailty — does not 
know that man is " as the grass of the field, 
which in the morning groweth up and flour- 
ished, and in the evening is cut down and with- 
er eth." Who among us is not conscious of 
mistakes and failures and human follies? But 
now let us look through the telescope — get the 
telescopic vision of a human soul ; and we " see 



SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST 127 

man in relation to the stars, to the immensity 
of space, to the music of the spheres." 

Note the application of the gospel of 
supremacy in the lives of men in the time of 
Christ. See John, originally a veritable Boan- 
erges, a son of thunder; under the impact of 
the influence of the gospel of Christ, John be- 
comes transformed into a type of clinging ten- 
derness — " the disciple whom Jesus loved." 

Behold Peter, the vacillating disciple, im- 
pulsive, unreliable, always getting into trouble 
himself and dragging other people into trouble 
through his rash words and deeds. See him 
over yonder in the testing time denying his 
Lord thrice, with a bitter oath upon his lips, 
saying, " I never knew the man." But a little 
later see Peter, for there is such a thing as 
Peter in possibility; and now he has become 
possessed of an oaken character, firm as a rock, 
whose faith in the Christ, the Master declares 
shall form the foundation of His church, against 
which not even the gates of hell shall prevail. 

Look upon the woman taken in an unnamable 
sin, upon whom the world turns its back, hypo- 
critical society looks askance, and from whom 
even the church turns away, crying out : " Un- 
clean, unclean, away with her, away with her." 
But under the impact with the gospel of Christ 
— for the Christ looked down beneath the sur- 



128 THE LARGER VISION 

face, beneath her sin and shame, and beheld 
His own image, marred by transgression, but 
still His image — under the impact of the 
gospel of Christ she becomes uplifted out of 
self and sin and the world into fellowship and 
communion with Himself, a jewel destined to 
adorn His crown of rejoicing. 

Really great souls are ever held in the grip 
of a mighty sweep of vision. Having crossed 
the Rubicon, Caesar sent to his home congress 
the graphic message : " Veni, vidi, vici — I 
came, I saw, I conquered." This was but the 
first milestone in the journey; a little later, as 
the head of a powerful triumvirate, Caesar 
shall sway the scepter of supremacy over the 
mighty Roman empire, and dream of the time 
when he shall occupy a place among the gods, 
and enjoy the perpetual worship of the citizens 
at Rome. 

The dream of Caesar was never fulfilled be- 
cause it was actuated by self-centered motives. 
But the unselfish dream of the Galilean, the 
Author of the gospel of supremacy, is being 
fulfilled : " He shall not fail nor be discour- 
aged till He hath set judgment in the earth, 
and the isles shall wait for His law." 

In the days when Spain had reached suprem- 
acy among the nations of the earth, having 
become possessed of the Gibraltar, in a moment 



SUPREMACY OF JESUS CHRIST 129 

of triumph she caused to be inscribed within a 
scroll on her national coins the words, " Ne 
plus ultra — no more beyond." But after one 
of her own sons, Columbus, discovered America, 
destined to become the greatest republic be- 
neath the sun, in humiliation Spain was com- 
pelled to strike the negation from her coins, 
leaving the more significant declaration: 
" Plus ultra — more beyond, more beyond." 

In like manner the foes of the glorious gospel 
of the Son of God have again and again 
imagined they have erected a veritable Gib- 
raltar of opposition to the further progress of 
the chariot of salvation, and in tones of tri- 
umph have cried out : " Ne plus ultra — no 
more beyond." But the chariot of salvation 
has moved steadily forward, and by-and-by the 
redeemed of the Lord shall look upon the eternal 
city — shall feast their eyes upon the vision 
of an unending progression, and shall shout in 
tones of triumph: "More beyond, more be- 
yond." 

" Jesus shall reign where'er the sun,, does His 
successive journeys run; 
His kingdom spread from shore to shore^ till 
moons shall wax and wane no more." 

The supremacy of the gospel, the suprem- 
acy OF GOSPEL. 



" THE LAND OF ROOM ENOUGH " 



" Jesus shall reign where'er the sun, 
Does his successive journeys run; 
His kingdom spread from shore to shore, 
Till moons shall wax and wane no more/' 

" America is but another name for opportunity, 
whose whole history seems to be a last effort of a 
divine providence in behalf of the human race." 

— Emerson. 

" When Spain came into possession of the Gib- 
raltar, in a moment of triumph she caused to be 
inscribed on her coins the words s Ne plus ultra — 
no more beyond ' ; but when the bold explorer dis- 
covered the new world, in humiliation she was 
compelled to strike from her coin the negation, 
leaving instead the more significant declaration 
f Plus ultra — more beyond/ " 

— Anon. 

' Thou hast set my feet in a large room/' 

— Psalm, 31:8. 



IX 
" THE LAND OF ROOM ENOUGH " 

It had been a glorious journey from start to 
finish — a journey under ten flags — riding 
in the heart of the deep for more than 14,000 
miles, penetrating the domain of historic centers, 
enthralled by the glamour of cities whose ruins 
are suggestive of former greatness, learning 
perfectly " the sign language," that we might 
converse with heterogeneous peoples, and becom- 
ing possessed of an enriched experience obtain- 
able only when " on the wing of travel." 

To be sure, we had not failed to tarry at 
Rome, once the center of the world's political 
power; at Athens, the former center of intel- 
lectual power; at Egypt, the home of the Pha- 
raohs, the great Sphinx and pyramids — not 
to speak of the Nile — of Palestine, that little 
strip of mountainous country that could easily 
be lost in the mountain fastnesses of some of 
our great states, but whose atmosphere is 
changed with historic interest found nowhere 
else in the whole world, whose climax of interest 

centers in the fact that here was the home of 

133 



134 THE LARGER VISION 

the lowly Nazarene, the world's Redeemer and 
Friend. 

And yet, we were glad to get back home; for 
had we not lingered in streets narrow, and 
reeking with filth, the streets of Oriental cities ; 
mingled with denizens whose appearance was 
more than synonymous with squalor, wretched- 
ness, poverty; been brought painfully in touch 
with the hated system called " caste," so 
sharply in contrast with the spirit of democracy 
of our own God-blessed land; so that when our 
vessel, " S. S. Baltic," steamed into the harbor 
of New York after an absence of several months, 
and we caught sight of the stars and stripes 
and the Statue of Liberty, though it was Sab- 
t>atb morning, you ought to have heard us 
shout. 

No, we were not all Methodists — the Metho- 
dists were in the minority for once ; and the 
staid followers of John Calvin, and the con- 
servative representatives of New England, the 
Congregationalists, the good friends who 
claimed affiliation with the Episcopalian and 
Baptist faiths, were equally enthusiastic with 
the followers of John Wesley, who from the 
cradle to the grave are supposed to be familiar 
with the spirit of vociferation — all, in one 
long, continued shout that must have made old 
Boreas hide his face behind his wings, the wind, 



" THE LAND OF ROOM ENOUGH " 135 

with envy, joined in giving expression to their 
joy of home-coming. And we better appreci- 
ated the language of good Dr. Van Dyke, whose 
words suggested our theme: 

" Oh, its home again, home again, home again for 
me, 
My heart is turning home again, to God's coun- 
try; 
To the blessed land of room enough beyond the 
ocean bars, 
Where the air is full of sunlight and the flag is 
full of stars." 

By our firesides through the years to our 
children and children's children will we engage 
in the pleasant pastime of regaling our ex- 
perience abroad, not failing ever to observe the 
law of contrast, or the law of association 
of thought which the psalmist must have 
had in mind when, in speaking of the rich 
heritage, temporal and spiritual, into* which 
he and his people had come, he said : " He 
brought me forth into a large place. 1 



99 



I. EXPANSION THE LAW OF BEING 

Among all the inspiring lessons to be learned 
by man there is none possessed of greater worth 
than that in which he beholds the index finger 
of rightful authority pointing at him, pro- 



136 THE LARGER VISION 

claiming the sublime truth that expansion is 
the law of being. No matter how profound 
the subject matter under discussion, or how 
much of erudition is possessed by the expositor 
of the truth at hand, the world has ever grown 
weary of any argument which is " in a circle," 
whose horizon is circumscribed, whose point of 
destination is never lost sight of, being near at 
hand. 

On the other hand, how the world's heart be- 
comes enthralled by the argumentum ad 
hominem whose sweep of vision is great, whose 
field of investigation is limitless in scope, and 
in which, though the world becomes enriched 
beyond compare as a result of principles mas- 
tered and applied, it is constantly reminded of 
the picture of the great philosopher standing 
on the seashore picking up the pebbles of in- 
formation — conscious of the fact that the 
boundless deep of further knowledge in endless 
sweep lies beyond him. 

How the world's heart has become pained — 
an expression of disappointment overspreading 
the faces of thoughtful, intelligent men as they 
have listened to a man possessed of the eru- 
dition of a Huxley saying: "If I could be 
wound up like an automaton and always keep 
going, without weariness, always doing the 



" THE LAND OF ROOM ENOUGH " 137 

right thing, I would gladly surrender every 
pleasure in life." 

What a fascinating story is that growing out 
of the history of the labor-saving devices intro- 
duced by the world's inventive genius ! What 
a boon to the world at large was the introduc- 
tion of the printing press, whose leaves of in- 
formation, like so many autumn leaves, are 
found falling all about us, keeping us in touch 
with the trend of human affairs ! Prior to the 
introduction of this agency, the world consisted 
of one great community of strangers — I say 
strangers, since space was an isolation of com- 
munities, cities and nations from each other. 
Two cities a hundred miles apart in former 
times possessed habits and customs wholly un- 
known to each other. Under such existing 
circumstances but little progress could be made. 

How different to-day. This morning an 
event of importance has transpired in a distant 
land; to-morrow morning, or better still, this 
evening, we will read a full account of it in the 
associated press dispatches — for the news- 
gatherer of this age is well-nigh omnipresent. 
And yet, who would become transformed into a 
printing press, even with the prospect of becom- 
ing a world wide dispenser of useful inform- 
ation? Who would be satisfied to become a 



188 THE LARGER VISION 

mere automaton, a machine dominated by an- 
other mind? 

To me there is a perfect fascination growing 
out of the modern engine. I love to stand be- 
side one of these; to feel its hot breath upon 
my cheek ; to hear its pulsating heart throbbing 
with anxiety to be off on its journey, sugges- 
tive of the great heart gripping great truths, 
longing to give expression to the truths, 
furnishing an impetus to nobler living on the 
part of his fellows. 

To be sure, we can conceive of an engine 
so perfectly constructed as to work with clock- 
like regularity, never growing weary on the 
longest journey, the expansion of whose lungs 
of steel sends the iron horse thundering out 
across the plains, and the ocean steamer plow- 
ing through the waves of the deep, causing the 
heart of the engineer gripping the throttle to 
beat with delight, knowing that his train — his 
vessel — will arrive at its destination on time. 
And yet, who is there who would exchange 
places with the most perfect engine in the 
world; who would not prefer to be any form of 
creeping, walking, flying, swimming animal of 
earth or sea or sky, rather than to be turned 
into an engine, a mere piece of machinery con- 
trolled always by the will of another? 

The sublimest phase of the Creator's design 



" THE LAND OF ROOM ENOUGH " 139 

is that in which we witness man, " the proud 
lord of creation," the crowning feature of in- 
finite genius, endowed with freedom of the will; 
who breathes the air of freedom, walks the 
earth untrammeled — reverently speaking, con- 
scious of the fact that even God Himself would 
not dare to coerce him to action against his 
own will. 

Forward, onward, upward; delving deeper, 
soaring higher, expanding, progressing, ever 
moving towards the goal ; with pathway flooded 
by divine inspiration if he will; with guardian 
angels, " horses and chariots," of protection 
all about him, if he will; the unseen forces of 
infinite wisdom, knowledge and power at his 
disposal, if he will — but ever and always 
exercising his sovereign will as a free moral 
agent. 

I repeat, it is the law of being to expand. 
The seed grows into a California tree from 
twenty-five to thirty-three feet in diameter; the 
cell expands into a lion, the king of beasts ; the 
ovum is hatched into an eagle, whose home is 
among the clouds. 

In like manner man develops in physical 
powers, in intellectual powers and in spiritual 
possibilities. " Man is the questioner of the 
ages — the first flash of his eye is an interro- 
gation point. He chases microscopic atoms 



140 THE LARGER VISION 

back through crucial fires to test their genesis, 
pursues them up through eternity to find their 
end; is bold enough to press up to the very 
throne of the Infinite and demand his right to 
be, the secret of his purpose, the meaning and 
outcome of his plan — a mote of yesterday, he 
commands the universe to answer him," and the 
universe obeys. 

II. PROVISION FOR THE JOURNEY 

In making the journey to " the land of room 
enough," it is well for the soul to ponder the 
provision made for the same. 

The naturalist finds an interesting pastime 
in noting the provision made for the journey 
extending from the seed to the full-blown 
flower ; from the acorn to the oak ; from the 
cocoon to the gossamer wings of the butterfly 
floating upon the air. 

Who is responsible for this provision? 
There is but one answer — God. God back 
of the seed, hence the beauty and fragrance of 
the flower; God back of the acorn, hence the 
oak ; God back of the cocoon, hence the butter- 
fly. Is it unnatural, therefore, to suppose that 
back of and responsible for the development of 
every faculty of the soul in the journey to the 
land of room enough is God? 

God meant that man should harness the light- 



u 



THE LAND OF ROOM ENOUGH " 14*1 



nings, hence the clouds have been charged with 
electricity from the beginning. God meant that 
man should find physical sustenance, hence the 
fertility of the soils. God meant that man 
should send ships of commerce tramping round 
the world, hence the highways of the deep. He 
meant that man should develop the aesthetic 
taste, hence the landscapes of beauty — spread 
out for him to copy in producing his master- 
pieces ; hence the music of the spheres from 
which man has borrowed his material for great 
oratorios ; hence the materials at hand from 
which to write immortal dramas. 

God meant that man should have aspirations 
reaching unto the highest heaven, hence the 
inducement of immortal capacity. 

God saw the exigency of the fall of man, 
hence the provision of grace which impover- 
ished heaven for the enrichment of earth — 
grace which is high as heaven, deep as hell and 
broad as the need of humankind. 

The tourist who contemplates making a jour- 
ney across the sea does not make selection of 
a tugboat; rather does he select a great ocean 
liner, with all the comforts and conveniences 
of the modern manse. Not satisfied with pro- 
viding for the personal comfort of passengers, 
the owners of great liners have installed wire- 
less telegraphy, enabling the captains of in- 



142 THE LARGER VISION 

dustry to keep in touch with vast business in- 
terests in the interim. 

But, oh, that ampler provision in the shape 
of " the old ship of Zion," on which the soul 
finds all that is requisite to peace of mind, joy 
of heart and contentment of life — a full as- 
surance of a " bon voyage " all the way ; whilst 
on the way provision has been made whereby 
the soul may whisper up in the ear of God the 
story of his need, and have whispered back' to 
him answers of peace and joy, the medium of 
communication being open and unobstructed 
by night and by day. 

One of the first considerations in connection 
with an ocean voyage is that of securing proper 
passports bearing the seal of the country from 
which one sails and the seal of the country 
for which he is bound. 

In like manner the soul, journeying to " the 
land of room enough," must needs have a pass- 
port bearing the seal of the kingdom of grace 
here and the seal of the kingdom of glory yon- 
der ; hence it is that " God hath set eternity 
in the heart." " And this is life eternal to 
know God and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast 
sent into the world." 

Witness, then, the declaration of the noted 
voyager, the apostle Paul, as he cries out: 
" There is therefore now no condemnation " — 



a 



THE LAND OF ROOM ENOUGH " 143 



no disqualifying clause — " to them which are 
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, 
but after the spirit." Witness also his declar- 
ation touching an entrance into the life be- 
yond: " For here we have no continuing city, 
but we seek one to come." 

Prior to entering upon the journey to a 
distant land, the tourist avails himself of the 
mediums of information concerning the country 
to which he would go; consults those who have 
made the journey, familiarizes himself with 
Baedeker, etc., getting all the information pos- 
sible in advance. 

Note then the ample sources of information 
relative to " the land of room enough." The 
most reliable source of information on this 
point is contained in the declaration of the 
Master Himself : "I go to prepare a place 
for you, that where I am there ye may be 
also." 

Is not this sufficient warrant of the ample 
provision for the soul in the land beyond the 
stars? If He has gone to prepare a place for 
us, that ought to suffice. If He who prepared 
our world home, " whose channels are paved 
with diamonds, whose banks are fringed with 
flowers, around which (as a background) are 
spread suns, moons, worlds, constellations, 
systems ; all that is sublime in magnitude, all 



144 THE LARGER VISION 

that is magnificent in motion, and all that is 
grand in order and obedience," — what will be 
the character of our eternal home? 

And yet, as if this were not enough, there is 
given to the soul the prerogative of having " a 
foretaste of heaven." On the wings of faith 
he may rise above this mundane sphere ; up 
and on up he may soar until he has reached the 
sunlit summit of the heights of ineffable glory 
where, gazing upon the panoramic vision 
spread out before him, he may exclaim : " Here 

is my home here, when the tabernacle of clay 

is dissolved, I shall find a building of God, an 
house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens." 

III. A CONCLUDING REFLECTION 

Suppose the soul should fail to reach " the 
land of room enough ; " should become so en- 
grossed in the things of time and sense as to 
fail to make preparation for that other and 
larger life — what then ? 

" See yonder astronomer gazing through the 
telescope upon a distant star — the star is five 
hundred times as large as our earth; but the 
biggest star in the universe of God is the man 
looking through the telescope." 

After the last star has fallen asleep, the blue 
scroll of the heaven having been folded together 



u 



THE LAND OF ROOM ENOUGH " 145 



and rolled away ; " after the death angel shall 
have flown from world to world, pausing long 
enough over the wreck of time and sense to 
murmur, ' Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,' " man 
shall live on, being possessed of immortal capa- 
city and destined to live forever. 

Suppose, after all the provision which has 
been made for the journey, man should fail to 
reach the land " where the flowers bloom for- 
ever and the sun is always bright." And sup- 
pose that out yonder, just beyond the range of 
vision in the twilight of memory, the soul should 
be found, longing for just one look into the 
faces of " those whom he has loved and lost " 
— not awhile — but forever longing for just one 
glimpse of " the land of room enough," and 
longing for the privilege of listening to the 
music of the immortal choirs — but longing in 
vain — what then ? 

Out yonder — I will not use the harsh word 
hell, rather let me say on the isle of memory 

— cut off from God and heaven and eternal 
life to linger through eternal years, recalling 
that all that belongs to yonder world of life and 
light might have been his, and are lost to him 

— that would be hell enough for any man — 
alone, and yet not alone, for memory, memory, 
memory, as an accusing agent, shall ever be 
with him: 



DEC 22 IS! 3 

146 THE LARGER VISION 

" Of all sad thoughts of voice or pen, 
The saddest is this, it might have been." 

Oh, soul, hear and heed this message falling 
from the lips of the great Teacher of men: 
" For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain 
the whole world and lose his own soul ; or what 
shall a man give in exchange for his soul? M 

" The land of room enough " with its crown 
of life is held out to thee ; do> not miss thy 
crown — do not miss thy crown. 



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